tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161136885462262525.post1714763213838356676..comments2024-03-09T00:19:36.011-08:00Comments on Reading the Short Story: Ron Rash's NOTHING GOLD CAN STAYCharles E. Mayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11642048806407593585noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161136885462262525.post-11395715050689906182015-10-03T19:16:35.044-07:002015-10-03T19:16:35.044-07:00Ron Rash has been good, as both novelist and short...Ron Rash has been good, as both novelist and short story writer (not to mention poet), for a long time. And he just keeps getting better. I did not think that this collection could match its predecssor, BURNING BRIGHT (which won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award), but NOTHING GOLD is just as good, maybe even better for its intensity and precision. If you want to sample the collection, try a story called "Cherokee." Then you can go on to read the rest of them.Chiropractic Codeshttp://www.hjrosscompany.com/start.phpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161136885462262525.post-17369570727163187282013-04-15T16:21:18.832-07:002013-04-15T16:21:18.832-07:00I like your review although to me "Trusty&quo...I like your review although to me "Trusty" was too contrived, as well as too predictable.<br /><br />The last story was best, even though it reminded me of my own 3:00 a.m. experience, the vet rigging a wench to pry a breached thoroughbred foal out of our best and most beloved mare. My wife and I looking at each other thinking about our loss, both emotionally and financially, something our horse business would not survive.<br /><br />But I relished the way he made the story greater than the sum of its parts, the nuances letting us know, among other things, that this is out in the country where people know each other's histories and families.<br /><br />The key lines in that story, to this reader, are Darnell's "There's a wonder to it yet," and "I mean we've gotten a lot more than we ever thought.<br /><br />Carson says, "The stars don't show out in town like they do here," a commonplace observation by anyone used to living in the country.<br /><br />But in the context of the story, it means being close to the simple things, being thankful for the eternal rather than the material.<br /><br />To me, the story answers the title and the subject of all the other stories, by saying that even though golden moments don't stay, we should be grateful a la Marcus Aurelius:<br /><br />We should live life as if it were a thing borrowed and ought to be prepared to give it back any time--saying here, I thank you for this life I have had in my possession. Richard L. Pangburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10717563750065476750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161136885462262525.post-15121242534644080972013-04-15T01:06:13.712-07:002013-04-15T01:06:13.712-07:00I have just bought this collection and am looking ...I have just bought this collection and am looking forward to it immensely as I really enjoyed 'Burning Bright'. I have read 'Three A.M. and the Stars Were Out' and it is brilliant so I know I am going to enjoy the rest. There are undercurrents to his writing that affect me but I'm not always sure why - I love that because it makes me think about what I've read rather than just receiving the prose passively. I have a similar response when I read Carver. From your review this sounds an excellent collection - thanks for reviewing it.A. J. Ashworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05171588178487319410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161136885462262525.post-8809609873819682402013-04-14T16:08:52.217-07:002013-04-14T16:08:52.217-07:00I am going to read Ron Rash, based on your review....I am going to read Ron Rash, based on your review. I saw a movie in 2000 called "Songcatcher" which brings to mind “A Servant of History." It starred Aidan Quinn and Janet McTeer. She played a musicologist who visits her sister in Appalachia and discovers a treasure trove of ancient Scots-Irish ballads, that have been handed down from generation to generation. Marisa Birnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17945909737147497606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161136885462262525.post-58053655437250667812013-04-14T15:58:28.285-07:002013-04-14T15:58:28.285-07:00I'm glad to hear the good words. Ron Rash has ...I'm glad to hear the good words. Ron Rash has become one of my favorite writers and I've been really looking forward to this collection. I purchased it recently and now I'll be reading it sooner than later. Keith Hoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08265914573541804127noreply@blogger.com