The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth and Other Stories from Cliffside, North Carolina

"Yard of the Month" is my favorite all-time short story. I love to read this aloud to family - for as long as I can keep from laughing. If you know an absent-minded professor, this story will resonate with you. This story is told from the point of view of a child observing his parents interactions with each other and their small-town community.

I was in Toronto when I first heard of Ron Rash. I saw his name on the back of the 2005 O. Henry Awards collection. I bought it because an old teacher of mine had a story in it, and to kill an eight-hour flight home. When I got back to the UK, somehow I put the volume aside, forgot about it. Three months ago, I finally picked it up and read it. Then I re-read it, then re-read it again. To me, it stood tall and true above the others in the collection. This story was 'Speckled Trout', by an author called Ron Rash. After finishing the story I felt fed, but ravenous for more - the way I felt after first reading the stories of Breece D'J Pancake. Within three weeks, I'd bought and read all of Rash's fiction, and one volume of his poetry. This, oddly, was the volume of his I read last. Rash loves words: he uses with them precision and care. His prose feels as carved as much as written. Like D.H. Lawrence, Rash grips his subject with both head and heart; a combination rarely seen, and even more rarely seen in balance. Religion, passion, the grip of history: they're all here in these tales. If the stories aren't as polished as those in Casualties, and his new collection Chemistry (shortlisted recently for the PEN/Faulkner award), they're still work of a different calibre. I urge your attention towards them.

Ron Rash rocks as he delves into life in a small town. From character to setting, Ron gets it right and he delivers. This is more than a witty collection of stories set in a small community in Western Carolina, it's a study into small town characters, their motives, methods, and madness. I found myself laughing out loud and reading bits to a colleague in our Spindale, NC, real estate office. This is a good read. And if you live in Rutherford County - you should read it right away.

This is a book I give as a gift over and over because it is so well written and very entertaining as well. I highly reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about characters who are so real, they jump off the page.

I am a part-time media specialist at Pendleton Library and thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have three small children and they were always asking me"what does it say, mama"?