Book Review: Above the Waterfall, by Ron Rash

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I love books set in small cities and rural surroundings and about the people who live there. There are enough books written about New York City. I also love it when a book can cross-over between genres. Like a crime novel that has literary elements to it, or a literary book that has noir elements to it, etc. I think Ron Rash kind of tries to do that here, but I wish he'd gone a little further in the "pulp" direction.

Above the Waterfall is set in the mountains of North Carolina, in a small rural community that has seen its cultural -- if not physical -- landscape changed over the past 10 to 15 years by the coming of an upscale resort and also by the coming of methamphetamine into the community. A sheriff in his final days in office must contend with the clash of a few different characters in the community who find themselves at odds. In the process, he saves an old friend's property and restores peace to the community so the new sheriff can take over. Interspersed in between sections of the main narration are "poetic" sections narrated by one of the main characters, a woman whose life was irrevocably altered by having lived through a school shooting as a child.

My main problem with this book is Ron Rash doesn't go far enough in any one direction. The crime and action parts of the book were not compelling enough to really drive the story, and the "poetry" interludes did not resonate enough throughout the plot of the book. So what we are left with is a moderately entertaining crime novel with a few chapters of poetry stuck here and there. I feel as though Ron Rash "really" wants to write this kind of ethereal prose-poetry all the time, but recognizes the need to have a plot in order to drive the book. I say this because, frankly, the poetic sections of the book are where Ron Rash really shines. For me they are not the most enjoyable parts of the book, but it's plain to see these sections are the most "living" passages, the ones imbued with the most emotion and genuine feeling.

Another thing is, the plot wraps up a little too neatly. Because I myself am a writer, I tend to read books as a writer. Meaning, instead of allowing myself to get lost in the writer's world, I am busy trying to dissect the plot and figure out what the author was trying to do, why he put this part here or made this character do that. At this point in my life it's very rare that I can get truly lost in a book and stop analyzing it in this way. And thus, I know a hastily tied-up plot when I see one.

But hell, who can blame him? It's no easy thing to create a compelling, believable story that ties up neatly and satisfies everyone's demands, including agents, editors, publishers, etc. and actually holds up. On the plus side of all this, the book was good enough that I was compelled to actually finish it. Which I more than I can say for about 50% to 75% of the books I read these days. All finely-tuned criticism aside, Ron Rash is a more than capable story-teller and, when he's hitting his stride, it's clear he has deep insights into the human character that he'd like to divulge. I will read another Ron Rash book soon. Definitely.