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\nThere\u2019s a harsh reality to Ron Rash\u2019s novels set in the mountains and foothills of the Carolinas. But he writes with a sparseness and grace that belies his beginnings as a poet.
\nRash published his first book, a collection of short stories, in 1994. In 2002, he dedicated his first novel, One Foot in Eden, to Clemson professor Bill Koon. This year, movies based on two of his novels were released \u2014 starring the likes of Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Noah Wyle.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nA<\/span>uthor Ron Rash is an elegant verbal craftsman, even when it comes to something as simple as automated-reply emails. For example, if you happened to send him a message at a certain point this past spring, here\u2019s what came back:
\n\u201cBecause of a novel deadline that is making my head implode, plus being no big fan of electronic communication anyway, plus my amazing ability to hit wrong keys\/buttons and therefore erase, displace, replace, deface whole paragraphs, please forgive any response that may be any\/all of the following: days, weeks, eons late, and\/or brief, illiterate, gnostic, perhaps even runic.\u201d
\nBut not to worry. Rash managed to stave off technophobia and head-implosion long enough to submit his manuscript in time for the novel, Above the Waterfall<\/em>, to be published this fall. It puts a capper on the most high-profile year of Rash\u2019s career, one in which not one but two movies based on his novels were released \u2014 \u201cSerena,\u201d a Depression-era drama starring Bradley Cooper and Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence in the film adaptation of his 2008 best-seller; and \u201cThe World Made Straight,\u201d a gritty coming-of-age thriller starring \u201cE.R.\u201d veteran Noah Wyle and based on Rash\u2019s 2006 novel.
\n[pullquote]Like most of Rash\u2019s books, Above the Waterfall<\/em> is set in the place he knows best, the mountains and foothills of the Carolinas where he grew up and still lives, teaching at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.[\/pullquote] Beyond that, however, the new book might surprise some longtime fans because Rash calls it \u201cthe most hopeful, optimistic book I\u2019ve ever written\u201d \u2014 relatively speaking, of course. \u201cWell, most of my books start out with a single image, and this one started with the image of a dead trout,\u201d Rash says with a sheepish laugh. \u201cA central part of the novel is a fishkill. Yeah, meth addicts and fishkills, I guess that\u2019s upbeat by Ron Rash standards. But the world can be dark and tragic, and as I\u2019ve gotten older I\u2019ve recognized some of the light and wonder. A writer has to be true to both of those, and sometimes we need to be reminded of the light in dark times. A lot of my books have certainly reflected the sense I have that we\u2019re not living in the best of times. But this one is a little different even though there is plenty of darkness to it, believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>
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