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They told stories about her and every story was spoken in a reverent way, as if now that his great-aunt was dead she’d once more been transformed back to her true self.
“Into the Gorge” is the first work I’ve read by Ron Rash. It’s included in my copy of Degrees of Elevation: Short Stories of Contemporary Appalachia edited by Charles Dodd White and Page Seay. I read it when I selected the King of Spades for Week 6 of my Deal Me In 2017 short story project. My Deal Me In List can be found here. Deal Me In is hosted by Jay at Bibliophilopolis.
Sixty-eight year-old Jesse enters the gorge that had been in his family for two centuries. Around fifty years ago, his father sold it to the government to be turned into a state park. Jesse anticipates seeing the “homestead” even though it is only a burned down cabin with a half-standing chimney. He also stumbles onto his father’s crop of ginseng – also around fifty years old and apparently worth more than marijuana.
In the process of finding his old home, he commits a crime. A crime that is neither accidental nor premeditated. As he makes his way through the gorge running from authorities, I couldn’t help thinking of various television crime dramas. Rash helps put most of my sympathies toward Jesse but I would find myself wondering why Jesse made the choice he did.
The powerful parts of “Into the Gorge” come with Jesse’s remembrances of his great-aunt who was elderly when Jesse was a boy. One of the more heart-breaking memories shows his great-aunt hoeing her garden even when she was no longer able to plant anything. Ultimately, the woman wanders off to the gorge and is found dead.
I’m not one to try to find symbolism in every detail of every story I read, but it does seem that this gorge represents both home and death – or maybe a home that one can’t really go back to outside of death.
As someone who spent many summers of his childhood tromping around and exploring New River Gorge in WV, this story really resonated with me, setting-wise at least. (And I do remember my cousins in WV frequently talking about “going ginsenging” looking for those valuable plants.) Also similar is that this story describes how the family’s land had been sold to the government to be part of a state park, which reminded me of Hawk’s Nest SP in WV, or even New River Gorge National(?) Park in the same area.
Your description of his crime as “neither accidental nor premeditated” is perfect. I felt a lot of empathy for the old guy. A sad story.
I think I’ve already mentioned that my Rathskeller book club read Rash’s collection of stories “Something Rich and Strange” which had many other good stories, including one called “Shiloh” which you would really like. I have a blog post about 75% written on that one – don’t know when I’ll ever finish. 🙂
Awesome comment, Jay! Thanks for sharing your West Virginia memories – they give me an added appreciation for the story. In Kentucky, I’ve been to Red River Gorge and Natural Bridge State Park numerous times. I’m glad the parks are there but this story gives me a different perspective. I usually don’t think that maybe a park used to be a family’s home. I would love to hear about Something Rich and Strange.
I really liked Ron Rash’s novel set in Appalachia, The Cove. Atmospheric and haunting.
Thanks for the suggestion! Sounds like I need to read more of his work.
I was thinking the same thing — just looked to see if my library has other things by him, and they do, so I’m going to have to get another of his books.
I was probably looking at my library at the same time you were looking at yours. I’m stopping by my library tomorrow evening and picking up The Cove and a collection of his short stories.
Too funny! I just put in a request for a collection of his stories, “Something Rich and Strange.”
Yep! That’s the one I’m getting!
Haha! Sweet!
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