WHEN THESE MOUNTAINS BURN by David Joy is his fourth novel, but my first exposure to his work. Despite the dreary nature of the North Carolina Appalachian world he describes—counties with crumbling communities overrun by drugs during a summer of intense wildfires, I enjoyed it. However, an obvious warning:  it is not a feel-good book.

I found the prose well-written. His style is dense, making each sentence important. I’ve read some reviews stating that the characters are unlikable. Most of them are, but I developed empathy for the father, Raymond, and Denny, one of the junkie characters, and even two non-human entities: the communities themselves and the wildfires. The story is somewhat sparse and some of characters could have used more development, but overall the work is very solid.

I live in North Carolina but not in the mountains and am not native to the state, yet I recognized many of the local references. This made the book feel authentic, from descriptions of diners to trailers to trucks to casinos.

Perhaps the novel’s best trait is its accurate characterization of the discomfort of our times, from the unraveling of social safety nets to climate change, No matter who you are or what your political or social stripe is, you will recognize that discomfort.