A Virtuous Woman

Began reading this book after lunch and finished it before bedtime. First published in 1989, A VIRTUOUS WOMAN was an Oprah"s Book Club pick. A lovely little book about second chances and an unlikely match between widowed twenty year-old Ruby and Jack, a forty year-old tenant farmer, a union which endures for twenty-five years. This small Carolina parable has much to teach us - about poor choices, loss, grief and redemption. And love, of course. I was especially moved by its depiction of an old man suddenly left to fend for himself when his wife dies. It's a story told with sensitivity and grace, leavened with generous doses of country humor. So glad I found this novel, even thirty years late. I loved it. My highest recommendation.

- Tim show more Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER show less

This is a love story, not at all sentimental, simply told. It’s mostly written in the Southern speech cadences of its two protagonists, Jack and Ruby, and this succeeds in bringing the characters to life. However, it goes back and forth between Jack's point of view and Ruby's, and Jack’s chapters are set after Ruby has died; this structure makes it feel a little disjointed at times.

Beautifully written, A Virtuous Women, is the quiet love story of Ruby Pitt Woodrow, daughter of a rich farmer, and Jack Stokes, a tenant farmer. At first they seem an unlikely match, Ruby, although 20 years younger than Jack, is already widowed, Jack, unattractive and unsuccessful, has never been married. But both have had tough lives. Ruby is alienated from her parents due to her brief marriage which was a disaster. She is working as a maid when she meets Jack. Jack has never had much, although his dream is to own a piece of land. Together they find, if not what they were looking for, a sense of completeness.

The book is written in first person narration with both Jack and Ruby narrating alternate chapters (except the last chapter show more which is written in the third person). This technique helps make both characters seem real. For me, personally, Jack was the character I most cared about, mostly because we know from the very beginning that Ruby dies and we see that Jack is lost without her.

This is one of those simple, quiet kind of books where there is little action or plot, just the story of two people who come to love and care for each other. Yet, it's the kind of story that will stay with you long after you've read it. show less

So far, this book is an engaging and emotional portrayal of the happy marriage between Ruby Pitt, a pampered daughter from a well-to-do farming family who made a bad decision to get married to a migrant worker, and Blinking Jack Stokes, a tenant farmer who rescues Ruby after her former husband is killed, leaving her alone with no property or children of her own. Both Jack and Ruby alternately narrate the story, even though in the beginning we learn that Ruby is in the hospital dying from lung cancer. Overall, the story if very heartwarming and easy to read.

I really loved this book. I picked it up because the title intrigued me and it seemed like a short easy read, which it was. I found myself surprised by the richness of it all. I didn't think that you could feel so connected to so many characters in such a short amount of time. Ms. Gibbons crafts such complex characters, who all have very distinct voices, and paints an entire relationship so beautifully. She is clearly a very talented author and I cannot wait to get my hands onto more of her novels.

While I found the voices of the narrators endearing, others may find that the book moves too slow and falls short of reaching “page turner” status. I honestly think the style of writing may be off-putting for those that like a more staccato and unmistakable voice in their narrator. However, even if the language isn’t your preferred style, I encourage you to stick with this one. Why?

Well, because when we look beyond the language we have a beautifully narrated story about a love that exists between an unlikely couple, under troubling circumstances. The narrators, Ruby and Jack, both share with the reader their perspectives on how their relationship developed. Through them you come to see the real experiences and emotions that help show more form the bond between these two individuals. Having two narrators share their sides of the same story gives you a full-bodied view of the relationship, which isn’t as likely when a story is told from a single point of view.

Moreover, as the reader you feel privy to nuances of their relationship that they might not even know about each other. You can’t help but feel that somehow you are “in on the secret” that made this unlikely pair quite perfect under the circumstances.

Interested yet? Of course you are. :) Although this book may be a slow read for some, I think it is one of the purest and most unpretentious love stories to come along in quite a while. Read my full review on my blog, Honey Lemon Tea. http://honeylemontea.com/2014/01/14/book-review-a-virtuous-woman-by-kaye-gibbons... show less

Gibbons's novel, a novella, really, is the story of a southern woman's relationships and the profound effect she has on those close to her. Born to a privileged family, Ruby Pitt enters first a disastrous, then a profoundly loving marriage. Though these relationships move her squarely into the working class, we see that love triumphs over class, status, and lineage. Told in alternating chapters by Ruby and her husband, Jack, at the time surrounding her early death from cancer, the book relates the history of Ruby and Jack's relationship. This is not a plot-driven, so much as an emotion-driven book. A beautiful, quick read, I couldn't help but feel deeply for Ruby, and especially for Jack.