The World Made Straight: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Ron Rash
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $6.98
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Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 151365
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
Publication Date: April 4, 2006
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Condition: brand new, NO publisher marks, NO labels
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Product Description
Travis Shelton is seventeen the summer he wanders into the woods onto private property near his North Carolina home, discovers a grove of marijuana large enough to make him some serious money, and steps into the jaws of a bear trap. After hours on the forest floor, he's released from the trap by the shrewd and vicious farmer who set it--but he can no longer ignore the subtle evils that underlie the life of his small Appalachian community.
Before long, Travis has moved out of his parents' home to live with Leonard Shuler, a one-time schoolteacher who now deals a little pot to make ends meet. Travis becomes his student, of sorts, and the fate of these two outsiders becomes increasingly entwined as the community's violent past and corrupt present bear down on each of them from every direction.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 The work of a major American author August 20, 2006
Timothy J. Dunn (Hazard, KY USA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I think that even dedicated fans of Ron Rash's work will be surprised at how good this book is. I've been a fan since I heard Rash read from his first book of poems, and I've followed every volume of poetry and every novel since.
As good as his previous novels were, The World Made Straight represents a major step and establishes Rash as one of the most important American writers working today. The writing is astoundingly good, and the story and characters are compelling. I particularly like the manner in which Rash captures the landscape of hills and waters of Madison County in Western North Carolina.
The story connects a two men struggling in their lives with the story of the younger man's ancestors' involvement in the Shelton Laurel massacre of the Civil War. All of the components of the story are fascinating on their own, and Rash weaves them together almost effortlessly, it seems, and you feel pulled into the narrative.
When I hear of a forthcoming Rash book, I've come to look forward to it in the same way I do a new book by Reynolds Price, or Anne Tyler, or Sherman Alexie. I look forward to his new poems like Mark Doty's or Mary Oliver's. It's been incrdibly satisfying to watch his body of work develop over the past decade, and I recommed him to everyone.
a novel about how life starts hard and gets harder July 19, 2006
Carol Peters (Charleston, SC)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I've been reading novels written by the poet Ron Rash since they began appearing in 2003. The first, "One Foot in Eden," is so remarkable I read it twice in a week. His latest, "The World Made Straight," is also fine: begins with great tension, quietens to a deep study of major and minor characters, then rises to a finish as complex and irresolvable as life. His poet's language is wonderful without showing off, e.g., "No moon was out, and the stars had yet to pitch their tents and spark their small fires." Strongly recommend.
A delight to read June 26, 2006
Justine A. Hausheer (Beverly Hills, FL USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This, like Rash's other books, was a great read. Through the characters in the book, readers not only get a great story, but a real insight into the region as well. It's like taking a backstage tour into the life of the characters. I would recommend this, and any other of Rash's books, to people who like more than just a great plot, you get the whole story.
DOWN AND DIRTY, GOOD READING!!!! March 26, 2007
Pamela A. Poddany (Toledo, Ohio)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have never read a Ron Rash novel before; believe me, this will be the first of ALL of his books that I will read. I found the writing to be excellent, true to life, and very, very gripping.
Meet Travis, a young teenager in North Carolina. Travis finds some marijuana in the woods, and steals it and keeps going back for more. You know his luck can't hold out and it doesn't -- he gets caught in a bear trap no less and his troubles begin.
Enter the Toomeys -- gosh darn, they scared me! The writing is so great and vivid I could actually see, hear, and smell these drug dealing losers. They are a father/son team, nasty, vicious, low-life. They doctor Travis' injuries he got from THEIR bear trap, threaten him, let him go.
Things go downhill for Travis then -- he gets into it again with his father, gets beaten, leaves his home and moves in with Leonard. Wow, I loved Leonard. Leonard is also a drug dealer, living in a nasty, run-down trailer, but he is a former school teacher and smart as the day is long. He is so interested in the Civil War and the people from the past who were in the Civil War in the area where Leonard lives . He has actual journals from the war in his possession. Now in his possession is Travis and also Dena, a down-on-her-luck druggie who also lives with Leonard.
Leonard and Travis become close as can be. Travis admires and looks up to Leonard and Travis becomes the son Leonard never had. They seem to pull each other up and out of the pits they have fallen into. Life gets better for both of them. They study the war, they read constantly, go to the library, they talk, they become true friends. The three of them form a deep relationshihp. They all care for each other, Leonard however is the person who takes care of them all.
Without giving away too much of the story, Leonard, Travis, and Dena become involved with the nasty, mean, deadly Toomey men. I found the end of the book gripping and scary and full of action and surprises. I hoped and prayed for a happy ending. Read the book and find out more.
The story moves and flows and is never boring. You will find out interesting facts about an actual event in the Civil War. The characters are true to life and you will become fond of them. Becoming "friends" with book characters and caring and worrying about them means one thing - the author has done a great job of writing! Getting the reader to care takes talent. And Ron Rash has that talent!
Get this book and enjoy it. I will be getting the others by Ron Rash, ONE FOOT IN EDEN and SAINTS AT THE RIVER. He also writes poetry. Such a talent.
Settle in, get comfortable, and read this great book.
Thank you! Pam
haunting powerful May 8, 2006
Shipley (LA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I couldn't put this down, from the first fishing trip that turns into a life-changing trap, to the final decisions two young men--and older men--have to make about their history, their lives and their role in re-living or changing history. Powerful book. Highly recommended.
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