Bookworm Review: Serena by Ron Rash

Serena
by Ron Rash
October, 2008 Ecco

Synopsis from Goodreads: The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena is new to the mountains—but she soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving her husband’s life in the wilderness. Together this lord and lady of the woodlands ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of favor. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son George fathered without her. Mother and child begin a struggle for their lives, and when Serena suspects George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons’ intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning.

Rash’s masterful balance of violence and beauty yields a riveting novel that, at its core, tells of love both honored and betrayed.

My Thoughts: I wanted to read Serena because the movie is coming out later this year. I love to read the books before seeing the movie and after reading that J-Law is starring in it, I thought, “I definitely need to read this one. ” My book club also chose to read it for this month’s discussion. The book took me by surprise. Although it was a quick read, I didn’t particularly enjoy it. It captivated me and made me want to read till the end, but Serena and Pemberton’s sociopathic tendencies bothered me. It was too much after a while. I wanted to scream, “I get it, let’s move on” about 100 times. I guess it’s a preference thing. I don’t like reading about murder after murder. I wasn’t particularly fond of that creepy eagle, either. The one person I really enjoyed reading about was Rachel. I wish Rash would’ve written more of her into the story. I gave this novel 3 stars.