Above The Waterfall

Becky has mental scars. In her youth a man entered her Virginia school and went to work with a rifle. Amongst the victims was her teacher. Now she’s a State Ranger at Locust Creek Park in the Appalachians, where she marvels at the nature that surrounds her every day and which sometimes inspires her to write poetry. She also tends for the needs of a septuagenarian named Gerald who owns a plot of land that abuts the park. Les has tragedy in his past too, in his case it was the loss of his son who went off to war and never came back. Then there’s the local sheriff, Les, who is a few weeks from early retirement. He intends to live in a spot he’s picked out for himself and paint the wonderful views he’ll be afforded. Les fights his demons too, he believes he failed to understand his wife’s depression and was responsible for her attempted suicide. And finally there is CJ, a boy who survived a tough upbringing and made good. He now works for the owner of the park. CJ saved Les from a serious accident with a baling machine many years back – an act Les feels he’s never truly thanked him for.

Les and Becky have a relationship… of sorts. It’s not fully bloomed and it’s not clear that it ever will. There are tensions surrounding the park involving Gerald and the CJ’s boss. Gerald has a habit of wondering onto park land and is suspected of poaching fish. CJ is tasked with resolving this issue and seeks support from his old pal, the sheriff. As the story plays out, old friendships and perceived debts battle with each other to gain prominence.

The narrative is laid out, alternately, from the perspective of Becky and Les. Becky’s sections are poetic and sometimes fragmented. We get the story form Les in a more conventional way. I found this off-putting to start with but once I settled into the flow I found the contrast interesting and and it really is all beautifully written. There’s a lot here about the grimmer side of life in this unnamed town – it’s a pretty dark tale. But soon there is also a mystery to be resolved and the dramatic tension steadily increases.

It’s a highly atmospheric piece and, in the end, totally absorbing. I’d been wanting to read a book by Ron Rash for some time and I’m pleased I tracked one down at last. He’s certainly a class act and I’ll spend time with more of his work sometime soon.

I'm a huge fan of Ron Rash and his Appalachian tales of the stark contrast between the beautiful landscapes and the dark souls that inhabit them. "Above The Waterfall" is up there with his best, with its tale of a soon-to-be-retired cop, Les, investigating what seems to be an open-and-shut case of criminal vandalism, that turns out to go a lot deeper than the poisoned trout ponds that kickstart the denouement.
Les is a flawed hero, upholding the law in a world of meth labs, addicts and petty crime, yet happy to take backhanders from the local weed dealers to pay for his retirement residence. A lifelong inhabitant of the world he polices, he knows the perpetrators and victims alike, and endeavours to do the right thing factoring in more than just the letter of the law.
There is a potential romantic interest in the shape of park ranger Becky, the survivor of a school shooting who has sought solace in nature, writing poems inspired by the landscape that surrounds them. There are also strong ties to the past in his friend CJ, who saved him from being maimed by a threshing machine on a farm, getting injured himself in the process, and his ex-wife Sarah, with whom he had a tough relationship due to her depression not mixing well with the daily doses of tragedy that his job served up.
Add to this mixture of rich characters an old man with a heart condition who doesn't believe in fences and signs that say "Private Property", a wealthy resort owner and a handful of meth dealers and addicts, and it's a recipe for an engrossing tale of haves and have nots and the lengths people will go to for a few dollars more.
Hugely recommended - another great tale from Rash.

This is most definitely a book to be savoured. I have already read it twice, and I am sure that I shall return to it again and again. I loved the poetic elements that Ron Rash has incorporated in the chapters in which Becky Shytle's point of view is represented. Such wonderful description, enhanced by amazing sensory detail, which really took me to a faraway location, which I have never visited, but which I now feel I know and love! I appreciated Rash's brave move in juxtaposing this beautiful, poetic writing against the straightforward narration and down to earth dialogue which comprises the chapters of the novel devoted to telling the story of the Sheriff's last few days in office. In my opinion, this device enhances the thematic exploration of the darkest elements of the human character which are revealed as the narrative unfolds. I found the characters to be well drawn and engaging, and the storyline was gripping, with a rather unexpected ending which further enhanced my pleasure in reading this novel, which I most heartily recommend to my fellow booklovers.