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Ron Rash
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Serena MP3 CD – MP3 Audio, April 29, 2014

by Ron Rash (Author), Phil Gigante (Reader)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 4,172 ratings
See all formats and editions

The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton arrive in North Carolina 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 worker, overseeing crews, hunting rattlesnakes, even saving her husband's life in the wilderness.

Together Serena and George ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of their favor. But when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out on her own to kill the son George had 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 finale.

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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Brilliance Audio
  3. Publication date
    April 29, 2014
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 5.5 x 0.25 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1480582239
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1480582231
  7. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ron Rash is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Cove, in addition to three other prizewinning novels, One Foot in Eden, Saints at the River, and The World Made Straight; four collections of poems; and four collections of stories, among them Something Rich and Strange, Nothing Gold Can Stay, Burning Bright, which won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and Chemistry and Other Stories, which was a finalist for the PEN/ Faulkner Award. Twice the recipient of the O. Henry Prize, he teaches at Western Carolina University.

Phil Gigante has narrated over 130 audiobooks, including Audie Award winner The Dark Highlander. An actor, director, and producer with over 20 years experience in theatre, film, television, and radio, he is currently the artistic director of Gigantic Productions and Little Giant Children’s Theatre. He makes his home in the Midwest.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Brilliance Audio; Unabridged edition (April 29, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1480582239
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1480582231
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 5.5 x 0.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 4,172 ratings

About the author

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Ron Rash

Ron Rash

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Ron Rash is the author of the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Finalist and New York Times bestselling novel, Serena, in addition to three other prizewinning novels, One Foot in Eden, Saints at the River, and The World Made Straight; three collections of poems; and four collections of stories, among them Burning Bright, which won the 2010 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and Chrmistry and Other Stories, which was a finalist for the 2007 PEN/Faulkner Award. Twice the recipient of the O.Henry Prize, he teaches at Western Carolina University.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
4,172 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book compelling and mesmerizing. They also praise the writing style as gorgeous and wonderful. Opinions are mixed on the plot, pacing, characters, and tone. Some find the plot unbelievable and gripping, while others find it intense and disinteresting. Readers also differ on the paciness, characters and tone, with some finding the book fast-paced and grippy, while other find the beginning slow.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
ReadabilityWriting styleContentEndingCharactersPacingTonePlot
346 customers mention "Readability"295 positive51 negative

Customers find the book compelling, good, and a fabulous read for men as well as women. They also say the story has an interesting plot, is well-drawn out, and fully realized. Readers also mention that the book is well crafted and comes together very well.

"...I found this a powerful book, beautifully written with wonderfully developed characterization. The sense of time and place is superb...." Read more

"...The characters are all very well drawn out and fully realized, Serena and her husband are easily two of the most despicable and bizarre couples you..." Read more

"...I also feel like his writing is hard to get into. It's an interesting story, but it certainly wasn't one of my faves." Read more

"...The story is mythical; the novel has been compared to a Greek tragedy and has been described as a "tall-tale" as well as a modern-day "Macbeth."..." Read more

230 customers mention "Writing style"171 positive59 negative

Customers find the writing style gorgeous, intriguing, and spellbinding. They also say the book starts off slowly and is very descriptive of the setting. Overall, readers say the author did a great job portraying the time.

"...I found this a powerful book, beautifully written with wonderfully developed characterization. The sense of time and place is superb...." Read more

"...The novel itself is very well written with wonderful imagery of the Smokey Mountains and the impact the Permbertons wrought on the landscape...." Read more

"...His wife Serena is beautiful, intelligent and ambitious...." Read more

"...I also feel like his writing is hard to get into. It's an interesting story, but it certainly wasn't one of my faves." Read more

33 customers mention "Content"33 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's content to be excellent, with lots of history and insight into the people living in the area during the 1920s. They also say the sense of time and place is superb.

"...The sense of time and place is superb. I highly recommend this book." Read more

"...There is also quite a bit of history about the development of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its effect on the people and businesses of..." Read more

"...written in such a way as to keep me reading- interesting historical referencesWhat did I dislike?-..." Read more

"...a setting that is rough and tumble, beautifully described, and historically accurate - it all adds up to a fabulous read for men as well as women...." Read more

251 customers mention "Ending"151 positive100 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the ending of the book. Some find it exciting, haunting, and suspenseful, with descriptions ringing true. Others however, feel it lacks a plot, is abrupt, and melodramatic.

"...on four mostly because of the writing, characters, and the exciting ending." Read more

"...them straight throughout the plot, and the ending was, well, immensely predictable...." Read more

"...The plot moves along briskly without surprises once we learn the extent Serena will go to make sure she gets what she wants...." Read more

"...Pemberton is just a bland push-over. The ending is quite exciting, but still left a lot to be desired...." Read more

173 customers mention "Characters"96 positive77 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the characters in the book. Some find them brilliant and wonderfully developed, while others say they're not developed enough.

"...I found this a powerful book, beautifully written with wonderfully developed characterization. The sense of time and place is superb...." Read more

"...has a way with words... however, he seems to lack the skills to develop his characters to make them more relatable or at the very least, memorable...." Read more

"...The characters are all very well drawn out and fully realized, Serena and her husband are easily two of the most despicable and bizarre couples you..." Read more

"...You found yourself not invested in any particular character, I felt apathetic about everyone...." Read more

91 customers mention "Pacing"32 positive59 negative

Customers are mixed about the pacing. Some mention the book is fast paced and gripping, while others say the beginning seemed somewhat slow.

"...The book also drags early on and doesn't pick up until about half way through...." Read more

"...with the novel's conclusion; however, overall, this is a good, fast-paced read.Serena is anything but serene...." Read more

"The book was well written, but it is very slow. Like, very very slow...." Read more

"...The book moves slowly to me, especially at the beginning...." Read more

50 customers mention "Tone"24 positive26 negative

Customers are mixed about the tone. Some find the book fully fleshed out, intense, and compelling. They also describe the antagonist as vicious and real. However, others say the characters are insensitive, despicable, and selfish. They mention the violence is a turn-off.

"...Rash has created a truly vicious antagonist. I think the Pembertons are meant to be types, successors to former mythological villains...." Read more

"...with the beginning as i found it predictable and a little trite, cartoon like...." Read more

"Rash has crafted a truly stunning novel, a clash of beauty and violence as ambition and greed run unchecked in the western North Carolina wilderness..." Read more

"...It certainly kept my interest, though the violence was a turn-off for me...." Read more

43 customers mention "Plot"19 positive24 negative

Customers are mixed about the plot. Some find the book holds their attention, descriptive, and engrossing. They also appreciate the subtle metaphors and tensions derived from them. However, others find the characters intensely disinteresting, boring, and anticlimactic. They find the whole eagle thing is a bit overblown.

"...I was confused with the beginning as i found it predictable and a little trite, cartoon like...." Read more

"...Rash creates beautiful literal and metaphorical imagery but also writes in a cold and detached manner...." Read more

"I can sum this book up in two words. Boring and preposterous...." Read more

"...This side of the novel is full of gorgeous writing, subtle metaphors and tensions derived from the character’s relationships. Five stars...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Bonnie Brody
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Portrayal of Evil and Destruction in the Backdrop of the Smoky Mountains
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2009
Verified Purchase
This novel opens with a bang. Pemberton brings his new wife, Serena, home to Appalachia and his logging camp. Waiting for him as the train stops is the father of the young woman who is pregnant with Pemberton's child. The girl's father plans to kill Pemberton as his pregnant daughter watches. Things turn out differently, however. Pemberton, with the blessing of his wife Serena, duels with the father and kills him. Serena gives the daughter the knife from her father's body and tells her that she will never get any help from them for her child.

The book progresses as the couple builds a logging empire, razing the land all around them to stumps and polluting the environment. This is told in the back-drop of the Great Depression and FDR's starting up of National Parks. Naturally, the Pembertons are opposed to parks and they buy up all the land they can to log while buying off all the people they can to turn the outcomes in their favor. Those in their way, they kill or have killed. There is no compassion forthcoming from these two.

Many others die due to the horrible conditions in the logging camp. As soon as someone is injured they are fired and replaced. If they die, the next person waiting for a job gets hired. There is no compensation and certainly no compassion. Everyone is expendable to the Pembertons.

Even in love there is a visage of portending evil. Serena wants Pemberton to be satisfied in life with only her - the two of them together against the world. She describes their lovemaking as 'annihilation'. This is symbolic of the two of them needing only one another and the rest of the world being expendable if they do not fit into Serena and Pembertan's plans. Unfortunately, Serena can not produce an heir and she begins to worry whether Pemberton is secretly helping his illegitimate son and his mother.

Serena goes around on her white Arabian horse with an Eagle trained to kill rattlesnakes and other enemies. As she begins to suspect that Pemberton might have some interests that are not solely her, the balance of love and power begin to shift.

I found this a powerful book, beautifully written with wonderfully developed characterization. The sense of time and place is superb. I highly recommend this book.
5 people found this helpful
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B. Elsbernd
4.0 out of 5 stars A well written and engrossing yet slightly flawed novel
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2014
Verified Purchase
Serena plays out like a Shakespeare play, complete with chorus of loggers commenting on the story, tragedy, despair, a little hope, and it's even divided into four acts. The novel itself is very well written with wonderful imagery of the Smokey Mountains and the impact the Permbertons wrought on the landscape. The characters are all very well drawn out and fully realized, Serena and her husband are easily two of the most despicable and bizarre couples you could ever imagine. Serena herself serves as the catalyst for much of the story, she is driven purely by ambition and greed and will do anything or kill anybody to achieve her dreams--she is very much, as the plot description implies, a reimagining of Lady Macbeth.

As for the bits that don't work so well. There's splattering of mysticism thrown into the plot and it doesn't work as well as other bits of the book. It felt a bit forced and smacked of the whole mountain people having mystical powers stereotype. The book also drags early on and doesn't pick up until about half way through. Then there's the ending itself, while harrowing and, and to its credit it ties up the main plot line, it leaves a couple of the characters fates up in the air.

Despite some flaws "Serena" is a good read that will get exciting about half way through. I could have done without the mysticism and it would have been nice to see what happened to some of the characters afterwards, but these points are negligible to say the least. I debated giving this book three or four stars (primarily because amazon won't let you do half stars), but settled on four mostly because of the writing, characters, and the exciting ending.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars This was a weird book
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book had a bunch of rave reviews. The main character of Serena is hard to connect with. I feel like the author (who is male) did not do a great job of developing her. I also feel like his writing is hard to get into. It's an interesting story, but it certainly wasn't one of my faves.
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Top reviews from other countries

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François Caron
5.0 out of 5 stars never any problem
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2021
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No problem
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Australia on February 13, 2018
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Spell bounding- very hard to put book down.
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J76ET
4.0 out of 5 stars spannende Charakterstudie (in englisch)
Reviewed in Germany on October 22, 2014
Verified Purchase
Meine Rezension bezieht sich auf die oben gezeigte Ausgabe(ecco Verlag), die vermutlich nicht mehr im Handel ist, was ich schade finde. Dieses Buch weist einen rauen Buchschnitt (Rough Cut) auf. Hierbei handelt es sich um unregelmäßig geschnittene, ausgefranste Seitenränder. Diese sind beabsichtigt, um handgeschnittenes Papier nachzuempfinden und sich von maschinengeschnittenen Büchern abzusetzen. Dadurch wirkt das Buch sehr wertig.
Ich bin noch nicht ganz mit dem Buch durch (ca die Hälfte)- kann es aber kaum aus der Hand legen. Obwohl ich lieber in deutsch, als englisch lese, merkt man das der Autor eine sehr angenehme und plastische Erzählsprache verwendet. Es fällt einem leicht in die 20ger Jahre in North Carolina gedanklich einzutauchen, in den George und Serena Pemperton ihr Holzfällerimperium aufbauen und scheinbar vor nichts zurückschrecken, was ihren Weg stört. Mit Serena baut Ron Rash eine brilliante und ehrgeizige aber auch berechnend und mysteriöse Hauptfigur auf, deren Geschichte man einfach bis zum Ende erfahren will.In anderen Kritiken wird die Novelle mit Macbeth-artigen Motiven beschrieben, was treffend erscheint.
3 people found this helpful
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jeanne Dumont
5.0 out of 5 stars Prenant
Reviewed in France on March 13, 2013
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Troisième roman de R Rash que je lis, et toujours autant de plaisir. Écriture très belle, très forte, de beaux personnages, de superbes paysages, et l'histoire captivante. On apprend beaucoup sur la vie si rude des gens dans ces regions montagneuses après la crise de 29, sur la société en Caroline du nord.
J'ai conseillé ce roman à des amis et je suis curieuse de voir le film qui va en être tiré. J'espère ne pas être déçue.
10 people found this helpful
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Amalia
5.0 out of 5 stars Very nice
Reviewed in Italy on January 13, 2013
Verified Purchase
Interesting reading, especially for its unique characters. Serena will make you fall in love and Pemberton will surprise you... wether in a good or bad way, it'll be up to you. It was a good way, for me.
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