Rating: 
Summary: Surprising Ending
Review: I must admit I was surprised and shocked by the ending of this book. All through the book you feel as if something bad is going to happen. And then boom it hits you right across the face. Jane Hamilton did an excellent job of depicting each of the characters. It felt like they were people I worked with, or lived in my own town, but what is true is that May, Ruth, and Ruby are the everyday type people we see each and every day. This book opened my eyes to a different side of life and I am grateful for the experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing, complex characters
Review: The Book of Ruth is about a young woman growing up in a small town in the midwest with her dominating, controlling mother, May, and her genious brother Matt, whom May dotes upon. May has always treated Ruth as a slightly retarded girl who has brought her nothing but disappointment, especially compared to Matt. The book describes the difficult path Ruth takes to grow out of this definition of herself. Through her development, the one person who truly believes in her is her Aunt Sid, with whom she corresponds with through letters from childhood through adulthood. The story starts when Ruth is about 10, goes back into her past through flashbacks, and progresses until she gets married and has a child. At each stage, Ruth is sensitive to the cues she gets about whom she should be from authority figures (the Reverend, her mother, Aunt Sid, a social worker), but she also shows a good amount of skepticism as she struggles to match her own thinking to those expectations. As a child, she grudgingly plays the role of the dumb student even if she only half believes it herself, while she genuinely seems to accept the role of wife and mother and changes to match her perception of those roles. All through the book, Ruth foreshadows a tragic ending, which still comes as a bit of a shock, but her again her reaction and adaptation continues to be illuminating.This is my second Jane Hamilton book (A Map of the World was the other). Once again, I'm surprised by how much I became engaged in the story of people I didn't necessarily like and might not otherwise want to read about. Hamilton has a real talent for drawing out the intricacies and humanity of her characters. I especially appreciate how she gives rich motivation for all her characters, so you can't just hate "the bad guys" and root for "the good ones," but instead you understand everyone as struggling with their own weaknesses and strengths, unhealthy dependencies and noble aspirations. I liked how Ruth often talked about people's "good points," as something you have to look for in people and may not always see. This could be seen as a book about a down-and-out family, but instead I saw it as a rich description of a small family in a rural town and the difficulty we all have in finding our way.
Rating:
Summary: Book on Tape
Review: I listen to a lot of books on tape commuting back and forth to work. I have read books by Jane Hamilton and enjoyed them, but for some reason was never able to get into this book. I tried it on tape and found it difficult, as well, for the first twenty minutes or so. But then it grabbed me and I couldn't wait to get back into the car to continue "reading." Ruth is a fascinating character, one who seems to know that her life will lead to a disaster but doesn't know how to prevent it. She makes the most out of her miserable existence, making herself believe that love and happiness are and will be hers. The ending was inevitable and I found myself becoming nervous as the end neared. Mare Winningham read the book on tape and it made the book even better I believe. She was the perfect voice of Ruth. Her voice carried the appropriate emotions at the right time. She WAS Ruth. Very often those who read the books are not right for the reading -- but in this case Mare was a perfect choice and made it more enjoyable. I would recommend this book on tape to everyone. But remember when you get close to home after driving an hour and you are in a good place in the book, you will need to drive around the block a few times@
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely stunning
Review: I just finished this book ten minutes ago and I am still clawing at myself. This book is absolutely heart-wrenching, terrifying, and astonishingly vivid. Although I did not always connect with Ruth I was still physically sick and about to scream during the climax with Ruby. Few books have had such a profound effect on me. "The Book of Ruth" is nothing short of amazing.
Rating:
Summary: sad but compelling
Review: One of the things I admired most about this book was the fact that Ruth was obviously intelligent, yet had trouble expressing this when speaking. The errors in grammar that were interjected into her dialogue, together with her thoughtful narrative, were truly evident of her essence. Ruth was tremendously admirable character, who was strong, yet vulnerable, trusting, yet not always truthful. Her struggles with Ruby, and especially with May, were heartwrenching. Her endearing love for them both was both frustrating and touching. My only disappointment was that May was never able to resolve the hurt contained within her realtionships with those who were close to her.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Moving
Review: a very cool teacher of mine recently recommended this book to me, so i bought it, read 150 pages the first day, and finished within the next 2 days. i'm not bragging here, this book just has a way of grabbing you. i'm not fond of oprah and her book club deal, so when i saw her "stamp of approval" on the cover i thought to myself ohh i'm screwed. but nonetheless, the book is like a tearful journal of this woman who is humble and seemingly becomes smarter and more confident of herself as she continues to tell her story. but this isn't her journal. it's her life. don't be fooled- this book isn't just for women. throughout ruth's story, you realize how much she has been robbed of even when she is unaware due to so much abuse. maybe you'll see some of ruth in your own self.
Rating:
Summary: A thought-ful, moving story
Review: The sad, beautifully told tale made me laugh and made me cry. Sometimes I wanted to shout at Ruth and sometimes I wanted to hug her close and protect her from all the ugliness in her life. This disturbing but lyrically moving story forced me to rethink some of my most secret prejudices regarding people who exist on an Earth only occasionally glimpsed from the corner of my eye. An existence where poverty and despair rule with a choke hold so strong that hope can only infrequently flail with weak fists. This book is not a 'feel-good', up-lifting, win against all odds kind of book (the kind I generally prefer to select) but it definitely kept me interested. I kept waiting for the big break through, the light, that almost mystical AH HA insight that would save Ruth in the end. Yet Ruth never gives up, no matter how dismal her circumstances and no matter that she certainly wasn't dealt a full deck to begin with. The Book of Ruth will not easily be forgotten nor do I suppose it really should be.
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing
Review: If you feel like reading something depressing and hopeless read this book. There was no light at the end of the tunnel for her.
Rating: 
Summary: Well...
Review: Depressing, real but somthing missing! I think the story in total was depressing and I kept asking myself why she didnt do anything prodoctive with here life. But I kind of got the answer when she finally left her small village to visit her aunt. She was just a scared small town girl, thats were I found the book real. I have alitle problem identifying what is missing but I guess I just found the book boring. I also think that it dint build it self up enough for the "dramatic" ending. The ending I found not in harmony with the rest of the book...to unreal! If I have nothing better to do with my time I might pick up a book by Jane Hamilton again! Arni
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: If you are going to read a novel by Jane Hamilton please read this one instead of A Map of the World. THE BOOK OF RUTH is a beautiful story - it's different, it's not what you expect, it's not cookie-cutter happy ending tied up in a neat bow. You will not want to trade places with the characters in this book, but you will find yourself cheering and hoping for Ruth and disocovering beauty in things and situations that at first don't seem so beautiful. And you will laugh. And you will wonder what happens next. And you will ask yourself why do certain things have to happen, just as in life. And then there's the heartbreakingly persceptive language...
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