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chris (Japan) (2007/10/19):
Amazon.com
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. From Publishers Weekly
"In her first novel, Hamilton takes on a challenge too large for her talents," said PW of this tale about a Midwestern woman who is loyal to her wounded and wounding family. "Hamilton evokes Ruth's character marvelously, but others as seen by her are incompletely rendered."
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Ophelia (USA: CA) (2010/03/22):
2/5 This book was exceptionally well written. Hamilton's first chapter really drew me in, because it was very interesting and the plot was very, very well written. But the ending didn't make sense compared to the implications suggested at the beginning of the book! The plot went downhill from the third or fourth chapter. The character came from an uneducated background, but her stereotypical and racist cracks made it hard to like the character. Considering the title, the Book of Ruth has nothing whatsoever to do with the book of Ruth in the Bible. The writing, again, is very good :). To me, it doesn't really compare to the style of Toni Morrison or of Michael Cunningham. It doesn't have a lot of fluidity, and it gets very slow. The plot kept drawing me in, and I was so interested to what was going to happen. What would happen to Ruby? What about Matt (he was by far my favorite character, interestingly enough)? OK, so I admit it, I skimmed to the end of the book when I was near the last chapters. I was just so curious, and the writing was too slow for my taste. Let me just say the ending was really, really disappointing. Really disappointing. This is one of the most depressing books I've ever read. +1 point for Hamilton's writing style. +1 for the interesting concept. She could've done so much with the concept, so much! -3 for everything else...
Jenny S. (USA: IL) (2020/06/24):
Like all of her books, The Book of Ruth is wonderful! And, no, it's not related to the Bible, per se! You will feel lucky after this. We take so much for granted.
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