Whether or not you’ve spent considerable time in the hilly, forest-covered, nearly-mythic region of Appalachia, you can enjoy this book. Ron Rash’s new collection of stories is full of harsh, weathered characters, their beautifully human qualities, and how self-justification and a cruel environment can create lives tangled by dueling circumstances and motives.

In stories ranging from the Civil War to the near-present day, all taking place in Appalachia, Ron Rash writes beautifully and starkly about humans in the middle of desperate times; a Union soldier’s wife is accosted by a Confederate soldier, a young child struggles with the immoralities of stealing food—even though it seems to be an absolute necessity—a son has a terrible addiction to meth, and his family becomes collateral damage.

Rash uses sparse prose to illuminate Appalachia and its real-life characters. Like Cormac McCarthy, his descriptions of the natural world are spare and beautiful, and the situations created by his characters are perfectly and astonishingly real. If you’re looking for a serious, quiet, beautiful read, I highly recommend this book. ~Jared