The World Made Straight

A Novel

Ron Rash

Picador

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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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Chapter One

Travis came upon the marijuana plants while fishing Caney Creek. It was a Saturday, the first week of August, and after helping his father sucker tobacco all morning he’d had the rest of the day for himself. He’d changed into his fishing clothes and driven three miles of dirt road to the French Broad. Travis drove fast, the rod and reel clattering in the truck bed, red dust rising in his wake. The Marlin .22 slid on its makeshift gun rack with each hard curve. He had the windows down, and if the radio worked he would have had it blasting.

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Reviews

Praise for The World Made Straight

"[Ron Rash's] novels are complex and compelling, told in graceful, conscientious prose, and The World Made Straight is his finest yet."--The Charlotte Observer
 
"An intellectually satisfying work of suspense . . . Reminds us of the sort of compelling literature a brave artist can fashion from the shards of such experience."--Los Angeles Times
 
"A superb tale of redemption and healing . . . Vividly enriched by clear, concise prose . . . A beautifully rendered palimpsest."--BookPage
 
"Finely wrought . . . Vivid."--Publishers Weekly
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About the Author

Ron Rash

Ron Rash is the author of the novels One Foot in Eden and Saints at the River, as well as three collections of poetry and two of short stories. He teaches at Western Carolina State University.

Ron Rash

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Available Formats and Book Details

The World Made Straight
A Novel
Ron Rash

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
Picador
March 2007
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780312426606
ISBN10: 0312426607
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 304 pages
$15.00
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Hardcover

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Hardcover
Henry Holt and Co.
April 2006
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780805078664
ISBN10: 0805078665
6 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches, 304 pages
$24.00

e-Book Agency

Learn more about this edition
e-Book Agency
Henry Holt and Co.
April 2007
e-Book Agency
ISBN: 9781429900850
ISBN10: 1429900857
304 pages
$9.99
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