Rating: 
Summary: A simple tale of love
Review: I don't really know how I feel about this book. It was easy to read, the story was sweet, but it lacked a certain spark. Maybe it isn't needed in this book, but I felt like I was missing something. The story of Jack and Ruby was appealing, two people who find someone to depend on and to love. They don't have a particularly passionate relationship. Their love is built on comfort and respect. I felt that the characters were well developed for the most part. But,again, when I finished the book, I was left wanting more. Also, the switching of perspectives from chapter to chapter and the inconsistence of time bothered me a little. To sum up, I liked the story, especially the last couple of paragraphs, but I would have liked more...
Rating: 
Summary: Another poignant Kaye Gibbons masterpiece
Review: This is a great little story about simple love (not lust
or passion) and the sweet dignity of grief. The characters are real and believable, the plot is down
to earth, and the dialoge is common-sense with plenty
of doses of sly Southern humor. Burr's offer of the land to the grief-stricken Jack was
heartwarming. He knew that with nothing else left in
his lonely life, Jack could go mad or decide there was
nothing left to live for. His awaiting Ruby's spirit at
night in their bed reminded me of Heathcliff's obsessive
love for the dead Catherine in Wuthering Heights. This novel is a simple yet intimate portrayal of living,
caring, and finally dying; unabashedly truthful.
Rating: 
Summary: A Book About Love and Grief
Review: This book starts off very sadly.But,as the story is told the reader finds him/herself laughing at times,getting angry a few times and appreciating the love that existed between Ruby and her husband,Jack It is a good short love story I enjoyed reading very much.
Rating:
Summary: Jack and Ruby loved each other so much.
Review: If you are looking for a quick love story then this is it for you. This book is short, but has all the makings of a wonderful book. The love, the sadness, the pain, the drama and more. Ruby at a young age marrys a man whom she later realizes that she doesn't love, but when she thinks that she is going to leave something happens that she doesn't expect. When she meets Jack she knows that is a really wonderful man and that he could make her happy, so when things happen to her she spends her time with Jack and ends up marrying him and being happy with him. But when Ruby gets some bad news she knows that things are going to be diffrent. Jack has never been without someone he loves and can't picture life with the love his life Ruby. when Ruby finally does die Jack trys to live his life the way he trys to but eventally he finds that he can't be as strong as he wants to be. This love story is sad in ways and also wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: A Simple Story But Very Much Worth Reading
Review: This is not a detailed, engrossing novel. It is a very simple and short story of a man and woman who are married, almost out of convenience, who are secure and happy, but perhaps not "in love". It is apparent though, that they do love each other and find great comfort with each other. They are country folk and the story surrounds their life together as the wife is dying of cancer. Although that sounds like a downer, her cancer and dying is not the focal point of the book as the story line dips back into the past and meanders about. Many characters and stories and introduced, yet in a simple and short-storied way. Very nice short read!
Rating:
Summary: The love a man has for his wife
Review: Here'a wonderful, basic story of heartfelt love. There was something about Ruby from the first day Jack saw her at the picnic table where all the migrant workers met before work. Ruby Pitt was a woman that bore her share of crosses.
This story follows Jack's love for his wife through their marriage, through Ruby's illness and beyond.
It's a sweet story that will pull at your heart strings and I have to say, it had me crying at one point til I couldn't see through the tears.
You will love Ruby and Jack. You'll want to take their hands and help them. And there are some characters that you just won't like at all! Some truely mean people.
This is a quick read and a very enjoyable, hard to put down book. I strongly recommend reading this book. It's just plain old fashioned love and tenderness between two good human beings and the struggles they endure.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful - Listened to it on CD
Review: I listened to this book on CD - an UNabridged version. It was wonderful. Gibbons writing style is well suited to listening to the book. Tom Stechulte did an excellent job showing Jack's compassion and love for his dying wife, Ruby. Check the book on CDs out at your library and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: artful
Review: Even though the story was very simple and straightforward and ordinary, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the book. the author writes masterfully.
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes short books should be read twice
Review: There may be a tendency for people to breeze through short novels, (simply because they can), and focus on the quick ending rather than the more subtle prizes the story offers. I found myself doing this more than once, and offer this as a reason why many readers did not rate the book higher. Also, as I have noted by the discussions of some reviewers and agree with, sad books tend to be panned more than most others. In regards to _A Virtuous Woman_, I found the title be absolutely correct and the story charming, tender and insightful. It is not riveting and it is not going to stop your heart from beating due to the suspense. Instead, it is an intimate portrayal of a disadvantaged woman in the south and how she copes with a subtle dignity that defines her character. In simpler terms, it is realistic, appropriate and believable. In regards to dismissing the book because it is sad, I find this to not only be untrue, but a great misrepresentation of the story content. Try reading it again!
Rating:
Summary: The life story of Ruby Pitt
Review: A VIRTUOUS WOMAN is about Ruby Pitt Woodrow, who was only 20 when she met and married Jack stokes. He was her second husband, after she had been married to an abusive drifter named John Woodrow, who she met on her father's farm. The story starts with Jack reminiscing about Ruby, and then goes into detail the life she lead and how she met Jack. Ruby's life as a child was one of ease, since her father owned a farm and they were comfortable. But she chose to marry one of the migrant workers on the farm and from there her life turned for the worse. Her first husband was abusive emotionally and physically and finally left her for a girl much younger than Ruby. She meets Jack shortly after her husband dies. The book starts with her death (from lung cancer) and back tracks to her childhood, her first marraige, and then to happier years with Jack. Each chapter has a different narrator, switching back and forth between Ruby and Jack. I liked this method of story telling, although at first I found it confusing. I recommend A VIRTUOUS WOMAN for the story content and the writing style.
| 
