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Rating: 
Summary: A different kind of good read
Review: I had a little trouble in the beginning with the writing style. As I read further things started to fall into place. This was my first Kaye Gibbons read and I found it a interesting kind of love story. If you didn't like the writing style in this book, you won't like reading A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines. (which I found a very interesting read also).I read several of the other reviews while I was reading the book. Most seem to have the impression that the book was dull and depressing. I think many people think the book is going to end the way they see the ending. In that case maybe they should of wrote the book themselves. Books are written to take you places you have never been. When you read a book, you have to keep an open mind and go with the writer. When I start a book I always finish it no matter how long it takes. Because I know there must be something in the reading that I can learn, no matter how small. Everyday life is like a story and it isn't always exciting and upbeat all the time. Neither are books. Books are written to make a person think. I would recommend this book to anyone with an open mind.
Rating:
Summary: A virtuous man, too
Review: This is a story told in two voices.
One is Ruby's...kind,beautiful Ruby, who happens to be at the right place at the right time when she meets Jack Stokes. The opposite of her abusive, drinkin, womenizin first husband. Ruby tells us how Jack takes her away from all that dysfunction, promising her a decent life, caring for her, treating her like the lady she is.
Jack devotes himself completely to Ruby, gives his heart to her, showing his love in unique ways. For instance, buying her a mule! He isn't the best looking man, or the smartest...but that was enough for Ruby. Then there's Jack's voice. Jack is a man after my own heart. I couldn't help thinking...this book could have just as well been called, "A Virtuous Man"
40 yrs old when he sets eyes on Ruby sitting under a pecan tree...He says, "now that's a girl I could marry."
And after those eyes meet hers, nothing is the same. Everything afterwards begins and ends with Ruby. I adored Jacks narrative, his kindness, the love he expressed to Ruby. After Ruby dies, the only thing keeping him going is wishing and hoping she comes back...laying next to him in bed, her skin touching his skin, smelling of lavender, and eating her usual dish of yogurt. Gibbon's gives us other memorable characters also, like Little Fran, who is the devil dressed as a fat woman.
She gives up Mavis, who is hired when Ruby dies to help around the house but mostly helps herself to orange candy and soda and breaks the toilet seat. I enjoyed the book, but the 4 star rating is for Jack. His voice makes the story much more interesting than it would have been otherwise.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing but enjoyable!
Review: This is an amazing book on so many levels. I particlarly like the way the story was told from two different points of view--from that of the two main characters. The swing back and forth was most effective and Gibbons knows how to get us wrapped up in a story. The writing is good--on the same level as McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" or Conroy's "Prince of Tides" and the pacing and character development is excellent. I could have wished for a slightly different ending, but then, it's Gibbon's book and not mine. Overall, highly recommended. Also recommended: ON THE OCCASION OF MY LAST AFTERNOON and Jackson McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD. Both are great reads.
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