The World Made Straight by Ron Rash
Travis Shelton is by all accounts a typical teenage boy. While fishing for speckled trout in his out of the way spot, he comes across what appears to be unattended marijuana plants and helps himself. He sells them to Leonard, the local drug dealer, who lives a quiet life in a rundown trailer outside of town. Travis sees easy money and goes back for more, only this time he's caught by the Toomeys, owners of the plants.
The chain of events lands Travis in a heap of trouble. Leonard takes him in when he has nowhere else to go. Once a teacher, Leonard encourages Travis to study for his GED and shares his love of the Civil War, in particular, the 1863 Shelton Laurel Massacre. The Toomeys meanwhile are laying in wait, watching Travis' and Leonard's every move.
The World Made Straight is a story of conflicts, conflicts within families, between cultures and in history. It is the story of who we are and where we've come from. This novel is a book club selection and as always, I'm grateful to be pushed into reading a story I never would have picked up on my own. But I have to say I just didn't like this book all that much. For me the multiple story lines didn't connect and I felt like I was jumping around in and out of several completely distinct books. The pace was slow and grinding.
I've talked to a lot of people who love Ron Rash. I'd never heard of him until now. Maybe this wasn't the book I should have started with, he's written several others. I wouldn't say the book was good or bad, only that The World Made Straight is much more crooked than I'd like it to be.
Travis Shelton is by all accounts a typical teenage boy. While fishing for speckled trout in his out of the way spot, he comes across what appears to be unattended marijuana plants and helps himself. He sells them to Leonard, the local drug dealer, who lives a quiet life in a rundown trailer outside of town. Travis sees easy money and goes back for more, only this time he's caught by the Toomeys, owners of the plants.
The chain of events lands Travis in a heap of trouble. Leonard takes him in when he has nowhere else to go. Once a teacher, Leonard encourages Travis to study for his GED and shares his love of the Civil War, in particular, the 1863 Shelton Laurel Massacre. The Toomeys meanwhile are laying in wait, watching Travis' and Leonard's every move.
The World Made Straight is a story of conflicts, conflicts within families, between cultures and in history. It is the story of who we are and where we've come from. This novel is a book club selection and as always, I'm grateful to be pushed into reading a story I never would have picked up on my own. But I have to say I just didn't like this book all that much. For me the multiple story lines didn't connect and I felt like I was jumping around in and out of several completely distinct books. The pace was slow and grinding.
I've talked to a lot of people who love Ron Rash. I'd never heard of him until now. Maybe this wasn't the book I should have started with, he's written several others. I wouldn't say the book was good or bad, only that The World Made Straight is much more crooked than I'd like it to be.
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