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Loading... The Book of Ruthby Jane Hamilton
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. This book takes me to so many levels of emotion. From the beginning you can feel Ruth's utter lack of hope. This book puts it into a story that is played out day in and day out,things that happen in real life, but no one outside lives it. Watch the news? The book is wonderful if you can handle the emotions. I do admit that I wanted the book to end a little differently, but a great read all the same. (  ) vaughnslawns | Jul 11, 2009 |  It's been a while since I read this, but I remember the characters, their situations and interactions coming to life for me. I could see, hear, smell and touch almost everything Hamilton wrote. This book had a depressing 'quality' if you will, but once I accepted that 'depressing' is Ruth's unfortunate lot in life, I savored every page. This is definitely on my re-read list. (  ) petersonvl | Mar 5, 2009 | This is the story of Ruth Dahl, a somewhat dimwitted girl who lives with her mother in a small town. When Ruth marries and her husband Ruby moves in, the family relationships become strained. Jane Hamilton writes beautifully, with phrases and images that are very powerful. I loved the style of this book, and the voice of the narrator, Ruth. I found there was far too much foreshadowing. We are told over and over that something horrible is going to happen...that looking back, the author realizes certain things. This was done to excess. After a while, I thought "this better be worth it." Not sure it was. (  ) LynnB | Feb 3, 2009 | indygo88 | Sep 15, 2008 | My mother-in-law read this on Oprah's suggestion, then she asked me to read it so we could discuss it. We both hated it. There is no way the reader can accept the self-consciously literary narrator as Ruth, who tells us repeatedly how stupid and illiterate she is. Likewise I found Hamilton's attempts to empathize with her characters both shallow and condescending. The only reason I finished this book was to discover what horrible thing had happened, as was referred to on the first page...the answer wasn't worth it. Hamilton has used every literary device at her disposal, and she is clearly a skilled writer. Unfortunately, her dislike or disrespect for her characters distances the reader, and the literary skill is wasted. (  ) Kaethe | Jul 15, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0385265700, Paperback)Oprah Book Club® Selection, November 1996: The Book of Ruth is a virtuoso performance and that's precisely why it can be excruciating to read. Author Jane Hamilton leads us through the arid life of Ruth Grey, who extracts what small pleasures and graces she can from a tiny Illinois town and the broken people who inhabit it. Ruth's prime tormentor is her mother May, whose husband died in World War II and took her future with him. More poor familial luck has given Ruth a brother who is a math prodigy; Matt sucks up any stray attention like a black hole. Ruth is left to survive on her own resources, which are meager. She struggles along, subsisting on crumbs of affection meted out by her Aunt Sid and, later, her screwed-up husband Ruby. Hamilton has perfect pitch. So perfect that you wince with pain for confused but fundamentally good Ruth as she walks a dead-end path. The book ends with the prospect of redemption, thank goodness--but the tale is nevertheless much more bitter than sweet.(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:09 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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