Ron Rash, Charles E. May, Southern Gothic,

Since Firsts Magazine presented their feature on Ron Rash last September, I've been reading some of his short stories and, for the most part, I've been very pleased with them.

This week we saw Silver Linings Playbook on DVD.   Nice performances by the two leads who team up again in the movie adaptation of Ron Rash’s Serena, which has been filmed but not yet released. Due in September, I think now.

Jennifer Lawrence as a Lady MacBeth?

Serena is a modern Lady MacBeth minus the hand-washing, so it will be worth watching to see how Jennifer Lawrence plays it.   Ron Rash has a feel for the working poor, the corrupt rich, and the complicity of shared weaknesses.   Serena became his most widely known novel, but he has made a name for himself with his stories, which sometimes can be described as country/southern noir.

Professor emeritus Charles E. May, whose lifelong pursuit of excellence in the short story resulted in several fine books, discusses Ron Rash’s new collection, Nothing Gold Can Stay, at this link:

http://may-on-the-short-story.blogspot.de/2013/04/ron-rashs-nothing-gold-can-stay.html

And don’t miss fellow Cormackian Tom Conoboy’s praise of Ron Rash at these links:

http://tomconoboy.blogspot.com/2013/04/one-foot-in-eden-by-ron-rash.html

http://tomconoboy.blogspot.com/2010/07/serena-by-ron-rash.html

http://tomconoboy.blogspot.com/search/label/Ron%20Rash