Rating: 
Summary: I put down WOW in my journal!
Review: WOW Is all I can say. I don't want to give the story away, so I won't say more. This book is def one NOT to miss! I will add this one to my library one day.
Rating: 
Summary: second to "To Kill A Mockingbird"
Review: This book is now in second place in my "Top 10 Best Books" behind "To Kill A Mockingbird". I've read it 3 times and know I will again. Hamilton's writing style is like no other (though I've read all her other books and none are quite this poetic). She takes a depressing subject matter and gives us hope and a deep understanding of the other side. Read this book- it will make it's mark.
Rating:
Summary: wow!
Review: I was amazed last year to discover Jane Hamilton. I'm really glad I disregarded my initial impulse _not_ to read _Book of Ruth_ because it was an Oprah pick (it's a prejudice I have, and I should know better than to make gross generalizations). It's like nothing I've read since _The Sound and the Fury_, and although I (understandably) hesitated to mention Hamilton and Faulkner in the same thought, there it is.For once, my ability to put my thoughts into words may fail me in describing the engrossment with which I enjoyed this novel. A surprise from a friend of 4 years' standing was her telling me that she had read it, too, and that, while she grudgingly admitted that it was "probably well-written" (I'd never heard her make a value judgment on her reading before--she was always amazingly self-deprecating about her "beach-level" reading habit), it was also a "downer." I wasn't hooked in my reading of _Ruth_ at that point, and almost decided to abandon the effort based on her comment. I'm an avid reader, but I don't _look_ for depressing novels. The novel is not depressing. It's beautiful in its evocation of what p.c.-speech calls "marginal" characters. The power with which the effects of the mother's (and, horrifically, a father's) personality are conveyed is very affecting. The optimism, and--if the pun can be pardoned--the ruthlessness with which the daughter (and a son) nonetheless perseveres in her/his attainment of all the riches that every life offers are conveyed with no less impact. The novel truly amazes in its depictions of the squalor, hope, passions, and horror unthinkably (and unthinkingly) wrought upon _present_ human relations by _past_ human relations. A strong reader will come away from _Ruth_ with some of the optimism, in wonder at the persistence of the human need for love and the many forms it can take. A reader less strong might put _Ruth_ aside without being able to finish it. Both will remember the experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Like eating raw chicken...
Review: This novel works backwards. It all starts in the present, in the aftermath of something horrible, and Ruth starts telling the story of her life, as far back as she can remember. The book opens with Ruth under the refuge of her aunt Sid, who reflects on how Ruth is intelligent, when in fact it was assumed she was an idiot. Ruth blames it on her lack of education, on her poor vocabulary. This is true: how many people cannot speak English properly and some assume they are dumb? Ruth had an unfortunate childhood, with a cold mother and an absent father. By the way, it took me a little while to realize May and Elmer were her parents, as Ruth chose to refer to them by their first names, not as mom and dad. Ruth did not know any better, and fell for the first guy who paid attention to her. Unfortunately, it happened to be Ruby. Ruth and Ruby, what a couple! She is perfectly fine with him being a lazy slob. Her hunger for a normal life is so great that she can do without those ingredients that make your life normal. Even after Ruby shows his true colors (I won't spoil the plot here), she excuses him and blames something else for his actions: drugs, his drowning accident, his father's beatings... Her codependency on Ruby is so deep that Ruth gets mad at her brother and aunt after reading a letter where they describe her marriage as a disaster in the making. This book was quite brutal and harsh. Do not expect a happy ending.
Rating:
Summary: fantastic read
Review: Yes, the Book of Ruth is dark and at times it is difficult to see Ruth suffer. Don't let that stop you from reading this book. You have probably met people like this in your own life, maybe some of her experiences are yours. Who doesn't know a woman who has a poor relationship with her mother or have a selfish, simple husband. Who doesn't question their place in the world and envy others who seem to have it all. It is difficult to read this book because it can be so very real. It does not have a Hollywood plot, don't be satisfied with Hollywood plots, challenge yourself and don't turn away, read this book, you will be thankful that you did. You will be thinking about Ruth long after you have finished it.
Rating:
Summary: Well written, yet strange
Review: This book is good in that it is very intriguing to read- it makes you want to keep on reading until you get to the gruesome end. Full of twisted characters and a horrifyingly strange plot, this book is shocking. Ruth is a girl who is not very bright, and she is outshined by her genius younger brother, who goes to Boston to a great university in order to study physics and astronomy. May, Ruth's mother, always belitted Ruth and called her stupid. She made Ruth do all of the dirty work while she pampered her younger son, Matt. Ruth befriends a trashy girl with a golden heart named Daisy. Ruth works at the dry cleaners as a living because she isn't too bright. Her mother is still mean to her even though she is grown up and Ruth lives a miserable life. She trusts in Daisy and her Aunt Sid, who lives in a different city but has always written to her often since she was a little girl. Ruth meets a low class man named Ruby and marries him. They live in Ruth's house. They have a little boy named Justin and try to live happily with Ruth, but she is always picking on Ruby because he drinks and is lazy. You would think that I had pity for Ruth, but I didn't have pity for her because she had a twisted, dirty mind and did not want to better herself as a person. The book shows a different point of view on religion. Ruth has pretty much lost her childhood faith in God and thinks of him as a myth that only little children believe in, kind of like Santa Claus. She is resentful of the pastor talking about Jesus all the time. She doesn't believe that there is a heaven or a hell. Basically, she is an atheist.
Rating:
Summary: The Excruciating Brutality of Life and Truth
Review: The Book of Ruth is an experience in reading I will never forget. Though a review on the back of the book refers to it as a human comedy, I totally disagree. Written like an autobiography, The Book of Ruth chronicles the intense life of Ruth Grey. She lived with her rude mother May and her younger brother Matt. Ruth was a person with very low self esteem and she wasn't brilliant either. Matt was a genius who always acted superior to Ruth and stuck up to their mother and their mother would always show favoritism to Matt. Eventually, Matt went off to a great college, and Ruth became a dry clean worker with her mother and they lived together. Soon after, Ruth marries a cheap man named Ruby and they end up living a crumbling life with May. The novel goes through the life of Ruth with her struggles, thoughts, friends, and her very few happy moments. By the time you reach the beginning of the ending it immediately and unexpectedly comes at you. The novel's portrayel of truth and life is so perfect it is haunting and unbearable. The conclusions are mesmerizing and powerful. A painfully honest and astoundingly gorgeus book that must not be neglected. Strongly Reccomend!
Rating:
Summary: Okay Sherry I read the book!!!
Review: My friend Sherry has been trying to get me to read this book for two years. I have to admit and I am sorry if I offend anyone, but I was happy when he killed the mama. I felt she had it comming. She should have left him and his backward wife alone. It was sad for the sons to grow up with out a dad, however such is life. Women can learn a lesson from this book, stop dogging men who are already being dogged who are already down and out. If you can't help the situation then let it alone. Period. Or you too can be stabbed in the celler on xamas eve.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much beating around the bush and pruning it as well.
Review: The story is so typical of modern female authors...PREDICTABLE! What is up with this style of writing? I can't understand why female authors have to digress and 'emote' everything until the actual meaning of the text is lost. If you are looking for a 'typical modern' book, or feel that "Oprah's Book Club Knows Best" then this is an appropriate book. If however, you feel that life is worth digging a little deeper and depth of insight is a treasure, then I recommend looking elsewhere for inspiration. Jane Hamilton is admirable but lacks originality.
Rating: 
Summary: Too heavy-handed
Review: If you liked "Liar's Club" you will LOVE this book!!!
Tiresome, long-suffering heroine (w/o a brain in her head--) who rather reminds of Faulkner's Dewey-Dell details all her travails. Red-neck city!!!!!! Are there really people lke this????? Characterization is heavy-handed... instead of subtle. Not well-written!
This book does not make the world a "better" place!!!!
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