Author(s): Ron Rash

General Fiction

Set in a small Appalachian town, The Caretaker by award-winning author Ron Rash is a breathtaking love story and a searing examination of the acts we seek to justify in the name of duty, family, honour and love

Matilda Bookshop Review

I devoured this unflinching portrayal of humanity in one sitting.17 year old Jacob’s prosperous parents are obsessed with him living the life they’ve plotted for him, but didn’t account for him falling in love with the 16 year old hotel-maid, Naomi. Disinherited and conscripted, Jacob is shipped to Korea, while pregnant Naomi is left under the watch of Jacob’s close friend Blackburn Gant - a target of ridicule due to the lasting impact of polio. Rash’s usual affection for midcentury Appalachia underpins The Caretaker, but so does a harsh undercurrent of class bias, stigma and intolerance. Kasey