Virtuous Woman

Rating:
Summary: The Virtuous Woman
Review: "The Virtuous Woman" written by Kaye Gibbons, is a novel about an unlikely couple. Ruby Pitt Woodrow, the daughter of prosperous farmers and Jack Stokes, an unattractive and unsuccessful tenant farmer. They share the details of their life in alternating chapters. At first the unusual narration appears confusing, but it clarifies what Jack or Ruby is trying to express. In the first chapter Jack is describing his life without Ruby. Knowing that she dies of lung cancer from the beginning of the story weakens the plot. However, it allows you to focus more on the characters and their interaction with each other. The author's reason for revealing Ruby's death becomes more obvious when Ruby starts narrating the second chapter. She begins preparing frozen food for Jack so he can have nourighing meals after she is gone. Her love and concern for his well-being was showing through her selfless acts, therefore strengthening the weak story line. Expecting a religious based book from the title of the novel, the reviewer was hindered by that assumption. It could have been enjoyed more if it was read with an open mind. In the book of Proverbs, chapter thirty-one, verse ten reads, "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." To Jack, Ruby is worth far more than any precious stone. Even though this was not the type of religious story the reader was looking for, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The fact that two people can see past their differences to find a love that is pure, unselfish, and stong is powerful. As a romance nvel it stands out above the rest.



Rating:
Summary: A light read.
Review: A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons. Not recommended.

In A Virtuous Woman, Kaye Gibbons tells the story of the daughter of Southern gentry, Ruby Pitt Woodrow Stokes; her tenant farmer second husband, Jack Stokes; and those who affect their lives most�Burr, his wife Tiny Fran, her delinquent son Roland, and their daughter June.

Gibbons uses a technique of alternating chapters, with the first written by Jack, the next by Ruby, and so on, until the last chapter. Chapter sixteen is written in the third person omniscient, with characters' thoughts sprinkled throughout in italics. This method is effective in the beginning, where Jack talks about his reaction to the news that Ruby has been diagnosed with lung cancer and her silent, selfish request for a cigarette, while next she talks about her response to his reaction and her own motivation. Further into the plot, however, this method loses its impact as the reminiscences become more random and less structured.

Although the idea of alternating chapters, most flashbacks except Jack's chapters toward the end, lends itself to a more dynamic approach to time, Gibbons keeps it virtually linear, from Ruby's youth and disastrous first marriage to a drunken, controlling migrant worker named John Woodrow and his death to her marriage to Jack, the notable events of their lives, Ruby's death, and Jack's life after Ruby.

Although A Virtuous Woman is well written and in a few instances somewhat insightful. The characters often seem to lack interest or depth; some, like Woodrow, Tiny Fran, and Roland, are little more than stock rural characters (no-good man, no-good teenaged girl, no-good bastard). They appear primarily to fulfill a standard a role and have little interest�they exist only to explain such things as Ruby's path toward Jack and the Stokes's unusual interest in Burr and Tiny Fran's daughter June. When Woodrow is critically injured in a drunken brawl, the wives of the other migrant workers feel Ruby should "stand by her man" no matter what, which also seems to perpetuate a type rather than offer any real insight.

Above all, A Virtuous Woman feels forced and unnatural. It is out of character for a barely literate man like Jack Stokes to document his memories, including quoted conversations, in such detail and with such care. This would have been a stronger story if presented as an oral history rather than a written one.

The unlikely love story and marriage of Jack Stokes and Ruby Pitt Woodrow Stokes has potential, as do the characters. Unfortunately, Gibbons does not have the depth as an author to uncover it.

Diane L. Schirf, 19 August 2003.

Rating:
Summary: Simply a love story, but wow...
Review: Hard to imagine anyone other than Kaye Gibbons writing a story of simple love between two people with troubled histories - and bringing it off with such beautiful panache. Told principally in flashbacks as Jack Stokes is grieving over Ruby's death, the tale of their dissimilar backgrounds, courtship, and improbably successful marriage is written with unsentimental straightforward power.

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Summary: A bittersweet relationship of a husband and wife.
Review: I couldn't put this book down.

Love came to Ruby and Jack differently than it does to most of us in modern times. We are witness to the backgrounds of both Ruby and Jack as well as their perspective of their situations. I liked the way the author alternated the chapters between the wife's voice and the husbands.

The story reminds us that make our own choices in life and often we let our circumstances push us into unwise ones. Many relationships are built out of need due to loneliness, one of the person's lack of money, or gratefulness; none of which has anything to do with romantic love. Often both partners are aware of each others reasons and often they don't know. Ruby and Jacks choice was to be alone or with a friend who cares and hope that love comes later.

A woman who is dying knows the limitations of her husband. She knows he will be in pain after her passing. This is the first book that I have ever read that detailed the male's pain and struggle to get on with life after losing his wife. I kept wondering what my own husband would do. I know my husband would go for the jar of peanut butter every day rather than actually cook something. . .no dishes to do, something fast. I love him and would probably be concerned about how he will survive without me and do something similar to what Ruby did. . .prepare and freeze some meals for him.

The story also demonstrates how families come together in ways other than biology. We all reach out to others whom we feel good with, know we can count on and willingly seek our companionship; they become family.

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Summary: Do you have the time?
Review: I read a great deal and most all gifts to me are books. Being raised in the south, I love southern literature. This book failed to evoke any response in me except that I felt that I was wasting my time in finishing it. It was sad and hopeless, as am sure it was meant to be, but the characters were under developed and failed to connect with me on any level.

Rating:
Summary: This is a wonderful love story
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love how it was narrated by both of the main characters. The way it went back and forth between them made you understand how they felt about each other. Kaye Gibbons beautifully depicted a rare kind of love between a husband and wife. I cannot understand some of the low ratings I have been reading, but everyone has their opinion. I loved the characters and I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: A gentle,heart-tugging love story.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a fast read (a couple of treadmill workouts) & I was captivated by the characters.

I was, however, disappointed in the final chapter. I disliked the change in perspective (the majority of the story is told in the first-person, with the chapters being told, alternatively, by husband & wife). The insights offered by the perspective of the ancillary characters in the final chapter were unnecessary. Gibbons' writing in the previous chapters had allowed me to intuitively know what they would think. I wish she had just written the final chapter from Jack's perspective! It would have been raw & powerful instead of diluted and, frankly, insulting for the reader who has grown connected to her characters.

Despite my disappointment in the final chapter, I highly recommend the book!

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Summary: Not what you might expect.
Review: The first book I read by Gibbons, Ellen Foster, was really impressive. So when i picked up The Virtuous Woman, I was naturally anticipating more of the same. The story centers around a man named Jack who, at 40, falls in love with and marries Ruby, only 20 and already widowed. According to the back of the book, the main focus is their intense love for each other. While the book was interesting to read and very easily finished in a few hours, I find that I am left with more information about the neighbors, the landlords, Ruby's first marriage, Jack's years of work... everything else except Ruby and Jack's life together. This seems odd considering Gibbons speaks through the couple individually from chapter-to-chapter. One would think I would have ample information about their life together yet I do not feel as if I do. I don't want to say it was a bad book because it kept my attention and I enjoyed the plot. It just seemed a bit bland. Also, Ruby never consults her parents about any of the important decisions in her life (decisions made at 18, 19 and 20) nor does she ever live independently. She just sort of makes decisions without thinking and then hopes for the best. So, although she has a big heart, I can't really respect her as a woman. All in all, I would say it is a good book that could use some polishing to make it a great book.

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Summary: Could Have Been Better-I Give it a "C-"
Review: This book just seemed incomplete and not put together too well.

It starts out with Ruby, Jack's late wife dying of lung cancer, and how he is grieving for her. Then it goes into the real story before this happened, Ruby having overprotective parents, and yet she goes off and marries an abusive husband. Jack is lonely and loves Ruby the first time he sets eyes on her. So when Ruby's unfaithful/abusive husband John dies from an accident, the two get together and marry. They share a few happy years together until Ruby comes down with lung cancer, and dies. Jack is so grief-stricken, he cannot move on with his life, and the book continues that way at the end more or less.

I wouldn't waste my time reading this book when there is much better reading material.

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Summary: Review on "A Virtuous Woman"
Review: This book was a love story about a daughter from Carolina who was brought up carefully and a farmer who never in his life had the chance to own anything. They both came from different backgrounds. The daughter's name was Ruby Pitt Woodrow and the farmer's mane was Blinking Jack Stokes. Ruby first became a widow after a brutal relationship she was in with John Woodrow. She gave her parents and her two brothers a surprise when she ran away with John. John was also a farmer and died in a brawl. Considering she was a brought up well and with proud she didn't ask her parents for help. So, she decided to go work at a wealthy home with the Hoover family. This is where she first meets Jack. When Jack first meets Ruby she was twenty and he was forty and they got married five months later. At first they weren't in love, but then after a while when they started to need each other and became they were there for each other. Ruby become sick with cancer and really needed Jack more then ever. It starts with Jack grieving over the death of Ruby. While the rest oh the chapters gives flashbacks on the past. Both jack and Ruby were very lonely and in the need of wanting at the beginning. They received a lot a support by friends that they had. This book is a very touching novel and gives strong emotions. It shows the different between two lovers who have very different backgrounds and end up falling in love with each other. I recommend this book to others because it is not hard to read and it's easy to understand. This love story make people think about how others don't really miss something or someone until it's gone. People take things for granted when it's there but when it's not there no more then they stop to think about what really just happened.