The Ash Family
A Novel
by Molly Dektar
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Pub Date Apr 09 2019 | Archive Date Apr 09 2019
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Description
At nineteen, Berie encounters a seductive and mysterious man at a bus station near her home in North Carolina. Shut off from the people around her, she finds herself compelled by his promise of a new life. He ferries her into a place of order and chaos: the Ash Family farm. There, she joins an intentional community living off the fertile land of the mountains, bound together by high ideals and through relationships she can’t untangle. Berie—now renamed Harmony—renounces her old life and settles into her new one on the farm. She begins to make friends. And then they start to disappear.
Thrilling and profound, The Ash Family explores what we will sacrifice in the search for happiness, and the beautiful and grotesque power of the human spirit as it seeks its ultimate place of belonging.
Advance Praise
"Lyrical debut...Dektar’s deft construction of the Ash Family’s world and their environmentalist values brings a meaningful new story to the canon of cult narratives. Perfect for fans of Philip Roth's American Pastoral (1997) and the film Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene."–Booklist (starred review)
“In The Ash Family, the brilliant Molly Dektar explores and explodes the lines between ally and enemy, between collaboration and sabotage, between blessing and threat. Dektar evokes the irresistible beauty of the wilderness, and then exposes its ravaging harshness. This mesmerizing, terrifying book asks the hard questions: What should humankind do in the face of environmental catastrophe? Where does the individual end and the communal begin? A powerful tale by a powerful new writer.”–Helen Phillips, author of Some Possible Solutions and The Beautiful Bureaucrat
“The Ash Family is a suspenseful and atmospheric exploration of escape, idealism, and community, a captivating ode to the quest for something more. Molly Dektar writes with great nimbleness and insight, and her debut novel marks the arrival of a wonderful new talent."–Laura van den Berg, author of The Third Hotel
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781501144868 |
| PRICE | $26.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 352 |
Featured Reviews
Donna S, Reviewer
My girl, my girl, don't lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night
In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through
My girl, my girl, where will you go
I'm going where the cold wind blows
In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through - American Folk Song (Leadbelly version)
This book was intriguing, a curiosity. It tells of a young woman's introspection and confusion as she leaves her life behind and joins a different kind of "family" - a commune, a cult. As her mind absorbs her new environment and she tries so hard to fit in, her inner self continues to question and to desire things she's no longer supposed to want. Her brainwashing is almost total, with "almost" being the key word. She has both feet planted in her new world (the "real world" as her new family calls it), but is still dangling her toes in the waters of her former life.
With lyrical details and a darkness blanketing the story (no spoilers, but I couldn't help but wonder throughout the book how this could possibly end well), the writing kept me engrossed until the end. I wanted more at the end, but I think it wouldn't have served the story well if I had gotten what I wanted. And now I sound like one of the "family." Eek.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 4 stars
Lee S, Bookseller
The Ash Family is a book about doing what you THINK will make you happy. Berie, a young college bound woman, who seems to be quite introverted and doesn’t think that she fits in, leaves for college but never gets there. On the way she meets a man who tells her everything she wants to hear and surprisingly she goes with him to meet "The Family".
Berie arrives at a commune, where "the family" greets her with open arms. She at first loves her life in 'The Family" but eventually finds herself more lost than she was before.Good read!
I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
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