To The Last Page

The North Carolina mountains are the setting for an epic battle of greed, commerce and self-interest on a level of Paul Thomas Anderson’s recent film ‘ There Will Be Blood ’, only in the case of Ron Rash’s novel it’s timber rather than oil that is the natural resource in question. Essentially though it’s land that lies at the heart of the issue, whether to exploit it for its natural resources or give it up to the government authorities who claim they want to convert it into national park, and it’s in the struggle that develops for the ownership of this valuable natural resource that, for better or worse, the spirit of American free-enterprise is defined – boundless ambition, naked greed and a high cost paid for in blood. Interestingly, while the men are certainly the main players in the titanic struggle that erupts here between big business and government, it’s the women behind the scenes who call the shots, driven by their own personal agendas. Pemberton, the owner of the timber empir...