From the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling award-winning author of Serena and The Cove, thirty of his finest short stories, collected in one volume.
No one captures the complexities of Appalachia—a rugged, brutal landscape of exquisite beauty—as evocatively and indelibly as author and poet Ron Rash. Winner of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, two O Henry prizes, and a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, Rash brilliantly illuminates the tensions between the traditional and the modern, the old and new south, tenderness and violence, man and nature. Though the focus is regional, the themes of Rash’s work are universal, striking an emotional chord that resonates deep within each of our lives.
Something Rich and Strange showcases this revered master’s artistry and craftsmanship in thirty stories culled from his previously published collections Nothing Gold Can Stay, Burning Bright, Chemistry, and The Night New Jesus Fell to Earth. Each work of short fiction demonstrates Rash’s dazzling ability to evoke the heart and soul of this land and its people—men and women inexorably tethered to the geography that defines and shapes them. Filled with suspense and myth, hope and heartbreak, told in language that flows like “shimmering, liquid poetry” (Atlanta Journal Constitution), Something Rich and Strange is an iconic work from an American literary virtuoso.
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“Narrator Christian Baskous delivers this collection of
stories by award-winning author Ron Rash with a soft Southern accent, deftly
matching the tone and substance of the material. Baskous evokes empathy and
horror in these tales of hard-hit Appalachian people dealing with poverty,
sorrow, addiction, and more. He allows a weary, threadbare tone to seep into
his voice, evoking the sandpaper quality of life lived on the edge. Baskous
raises the emotional level of the stories, which are already poetic in nature.
A match made in literary heaven, Rash and Baskous capture bleak moments that
make listeners feel the pain and joy of life. Winner of the AudioFile
Earphones Award.”
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AudioFile