The BOOK OF RUTH CASSETTE

Rating:
Summary: A Terrible Beauty
Review: I finished "The Book of Ruth" last night and today I miss her terribly. I read some of the book's reviews on Amazon.com today, and I am amazed at how differently we see things, we humans. Because I cherished the experience of reading this book so deeply (and no, I wasn't abused), I can't imagine that those who didn't care for it could possibly have read the same book.I make an assumption about Ruth from the very first chapter: that she is very mildly retarded or in some way subtly disabled. For me, her behaviors and perceptions are off just enough to imply some missing cerebral link. And this is what is so extraordinary to me: that someone without all resources at her disposal can yet perceive herself and her world with such precious, ingenuous, brilliant vision ... well, I would feel honored to have her as a friend.To write from the point of view of a retarded person makes for such creative use of language and imagery. Ruth is like an idiot savant. She is all the best a human being can be, tireless in her effort to find good and truth in her experiences, resilient beyond belief. I think she puts us all to shame, "healthy" though we be.Depressing? No, no, no. That's too easy. I am reminded of Yeats: "...a terrible beauty is born." I am in awe of Ruthy. I laugh through my tears and am comforted.

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing but wonderfully written
Review: I had this book sitting on my shelf for sometime since Oprah first recommended it. I happen to pick it up recently to take to the beach. I must admit it was not an easy read and there were many times when I wondered why I was reading it because it was so painful. The ending was not unexpected for me because I felt like we were always leading to a crescendo only I was secretly hoping it would have been a happy one. Needless to say, it was certainly more appropriate than anything sugar coated. I was truly emotionally touched by Ruth's wonderful ability to look past the imperfections of those around her. I completely agree with other reveiwers in that this is not a light read but one that will never totally leave your heart and soul. The book is well worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: A writer on par with Joyce Carol Oates
Review: I have read both this book and Map of the World (which I loved and lived in and wanted to return to when I was finished).

"Ruth" is, in my opinion, even more breathtaking than "Map". Hamilton has a fine gift not only of fleshing out a character.. but of fleshing out a relationship in all its subtelties and meaning. Her narrative is as intricate and unpredictable as life itself.

Hamilton's writing is so fluid and emotionally tactile it not only brings the reader into the story but lets you inside the characters and their relationships... you will live in Ruth's head and heart, you will truly know what it is to be her... the reader is not left wondering at her motives or reactions.

The narrative is so finely woven you find yourself understanding completely the most questionable of characters. It is Hamilton's keen understanding of human nature and the dynamics of human interaction which makes these characters shine with their own particular beauty and intelligence and at the same time with the dark horror of their "mean" "kernel"s.

Hamilton's writing is not "meandering" or "boring" at all... there is no line that could have been left out of "Ruth". The story is actually quite spare and we hear all and only what we really need to know.

I also do not understand how some readers can give "Ruth" bad reviews simply because it is 'depressing' and 'uninspiring'... Ruth is a victim of circumstances... but we know from living through her all the intricacies of the circumstances and thus how things could have been made better.

The story starts with Ruth's feeling that her life's story started with the "meanness" in people... that we all have a kernel of meanness... we see how the subtleties of familial interactions can form the shape of their relationships and people's hearts and ultimately lead to destruction or salvation... the feeding of the kernel of "meanness" or it's eradication through patterns of expected behavior or by deviating from who your world has told you you are.

We see how we can change our lives by breaking out of the behavior patterns we follow through the confines of the way our intimates (for better or worse) have drawn us. The only character brave enough to finally leap out of her casted role is Daisy, Ruth's "slutty" friend. Ruth's mother May, tragically, does not have the courage to end the cycle of her expected behavior and neither did Ruth.... but we are left at the end with the possibility of real change for Ruth... by virtue of her having learned how she got to be who and where she is... a revelation we should all be so lucky to make.

I found "Ruth" wholly satisfying and also inspiring. This is definitely a book and a character I will carry with me for life and I eagerly await another novel from Hamilton.

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: Wonderful, quirky heroine...
Review: I, for one, did not feel sorry for Ruth. She was a hoot - had a great sense of humor about all the squalid things happening around her. I did not find her mother as objectionable as the bookcover blurb implied, either. However, I did find the characterization of the mother one of the book's flaws. I just couldn't "see" her, for all of Ruth's talking about her. Maybe it's because she did just that - talk ABOUT her. She was just too much of a cartoon for me - not human enough. Still, that didn't spoil the book for me.

As for the previous reviewer who complained about Ruth's (and Hamilton's) jaundiced views on organized religion: MORE POWER TO THEM! Praise God (who is probably amused as Hell by organized religion) for Great Writers. Most of them, throughout history, have presented us with a clear view of the sham - the hypocrisy, the abuse of power, the ignorance bred in the institution.

After having seen the movie version of (and then read the book of "Map of The World" ) I am a real fan of this author and look forward to everything else she brings us in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Verisimilitude
Review: So many of the books in this space (personal narrative of a person who generally isn't in a position to speak) fall into what I think of as the wishful thinking trap. That is, they can't seem to resist some kind of transformative moment which saves the character-- some kind of stock situation that, while tempting to believe, is ultimately unfulfilling because it's so false.

The Book of Ruth doesn't write personal history the way we want it to be. It writes history the way it so often is. Some lives are wasted. Some abusive relationships aren't all bad. Some people never recover, no matter how much you wish they would. While this book doesn't close the door on Ruth, it doesn't leave you with a satisfying road map of happiness either. And that uncompromising vision is part of what makes it so strong and beautiful.

Hamilton is a very good writer, and can make something beautiful even when logically you agree with Aunt Syd and know it's a disaster. Really a marvelous book.

Rating:
Summary: What an odd book!
Review: So, I finished this book this morning, and I am still scratching my head trying to figure out who those characters were.

Ruth...loved the dickens out of Dickens, apparently found those stories highly entertaining, somehow Ruth missed out on her brother's share of smarts but retained enough to appreciate "literature" even though she didn't seem able to read and had to listen to the audio tapes. (I like the previous review from the educator who pointed out Ruth most likely had a learning disability).

May....did anyone else pick up on what a fastidious housekeeper she was? All the while drinking "gallons and gallons" of spiked lemonade, a pure alcoholic who attended church regularly, had the meanest tongue in any fictional character I've read lately, her character seemed slovenly and uneducated and yet to me she was the most sympathetic character in the book.

Ruby....what the hell did Ruth see in him? She talks constantly about his glorious smile, with his missing and blackened teeth, he is drunk and stoned all the time and a big fat baby, sorry he was abused as a child, but was he really the only man in the county available for marriage? Fat Randall would have been a much better choice!

And who was her brother, Matt? A parable of what Ruth could have been, and by the way, was he gay?

I grew up in a very rural and impoverished part of the country, and I still couldn't get a handle on these characters. This was just one of the weirdest books I've read, and I can't really say it was worth the time. It raised a lot of questions, but in the end never answered any! This is one way to write a thought provoking book....after you read it you have to stop and think, what in the world did I just read? Oh, well. It passed some time in a relatively entertaining way, but don't read it if you like a happy ending.