''The World Made Straight'' is a 2006 novel by

Ron Rash Ron Rash (born September 25, 1953), is an American poet, short story writer and novelist, is the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. Early life Rash was born on September 25, 1953, in C ...

Plot

In 1970s western

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, a young man stumbles across a grove of marijuana, sees an opportunity to make some easy money, and steps into the jaws of a bear trap. He is discovered by the ruthless farmer who set the trap to protect his plants, and begins his struggle with the evils of his community's present as well as those of its history. Before long, he has moved out of his parents' home to live with a onetime schoolteacher who now lives in a trailer outside town, deals a few drugs, and studies journals from the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Their fates become entwined as the community's terrible past and corrupt present lead to a violent reckoning with the marijuana farmer and with a Civil War massacre that continues to divide an Appalachian community.

Characters

*Travis Shelton, 17 years old, high school dropout discouraged from bettering himself by his tobacco farmer father. *Leonard Shuler, a former schoolteacher, now small-time drug dealer, whose career was ended by a vindictive student. *Carlton Toomey, a ruthless and wily farmer and drug dealer. *Dena, once a pretty young woman, who has become a heavy drug user.

Release details

*2006, USA, Henry Holt , Pub date April 2006, Hardcover

Film adaptation

The novel was adapted into a feature film, with a screenplay by Shane Danielsen.

Jeremy Irvine Jeremy William Fredric Smith (born 18 June 1990), known professionally as Jeremy Irvine, is an English actor who made his film debut in the epic war film ''War Horse'' (2011). In 2012, he portrayed Philip "Pip" Pirrip in the film adaptation of ...

starred as Travis, and

Noah Wyle Noah Strausser Speer Wyle (; born June 4, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Carter in the television series '' ER'' (1994–2009), which earned him nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and five Primetime Emm ...

played his mentor Leonard.

Adelaide Clemens Adelaide Clemens (born 30 November 1989) is an Australian actress. She was nominated for a Logie Award in 2008 for her role in the television series ''Love My Way''. In 2012, she played Valentine Wannop in BBC's television miniseries adaptation ...

Minka Kelly Minka Kelly (born June 24, 1980) is an American actress and model. Her first starring role was in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2009) and she has also appeared on the shows '' Parenthood'' (2010–2011), ''Charlie's Ang ...

, Steve Earle and

Haley Joel Osment Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Osment's role in the comedy-drama film '' Forrest Gump'' (1994) won him a Young Artist Award. His breakthrough came with the ps ...

were also among the cast. Michael Wrenn and Todd J. Labarowski produced, and producer David Burris made his directorial debut. The film was shot in

and was released in January 2015. It received mixed reviews.

References

External links

Book information on the publisher's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:World Made Straight, The 2006 American novels American novels adapted into films Novels set in North Carolina Henry Holt and Company books English-language novels