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The Caretaker

Ron Rash

Blowing Rock, North Carolina, 1951. Blackburn Gant, his life irrevocably altered by a childhood case of polio, seems condemned to spend his life among the dead as the sole caretaker of a hilltop cemetery. It suits his withdrawn personality, and the inexplicable occurrences that happen from time to time rattle him less than interactions with the living. But when his only friend, the kind but impulsive Jacob Hampton, is conscripted to serve overseas, Blackburn is charged with caring for Jacob's wife, Naomi, as well. Jacob and Naomi's elopement has scandalized the community and angered Jacob's parents. Shunned by the townsfolk for their differences and equally fearful that Jacob may never come home from the war, Blackburn and Naomi grow closer, even as a stunning betrayal shatters familial bonds. A profound examination of friendship and rivalry as well as a riveting story of unfolding deceit, The Caretaker brilliantly depicts the human capacity for empathetic compassion and selfish destruction, all justified as acts of love.[Bokinfo]

GenresFictionSmall Town & RuralHistoricalLiterary

272 pages, 5 editions

English edition · First published 2023 by Random House US · ISBN 9780525564218

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Editions

5 editions

English

  • The Caretaker · Random House US · 2024 · ISBN 9780525564218 This page
  • The Caretaker · Canongate · 2024 · ISBN 9781837260027
  • The Caretaker · Canongate · 2023 · ISBN 9781805301660
  • The Caretaker: A Novel · Doubleday · 2023 · ISBN 9780385544276
  • The Caretaker · Canongate · 2023 · ISBN 9781805301653

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