The Book of Ruth (Oprah's Book Club)
by Jane Hamilton
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Description
Oprah Book Club® Selection, November 1996: The Book of Ruth is a virtuoso performance and that's precisely why it can be excruciating to read. Author Jane Hamilton leads us through the arid life of Ruth Grey, who extracts what small pleasures and graces she can from a tiny Illinois town and the broken people who inhabit it. Ruth's prime tormentor is her mother May, whose husband died in World War II and took her future with him. More poor familial luck has given Ruth a brother who is a math prodigy; Matt sucks up any stray attention like a black hole. Ruth is left to survive on her own resources, which are meager. She struggles along, subsisting on crumbs of affection meted out by her Aunt Sid and, later, her screwed-up husband Ruby. Hamilton has perfect pitch. So perfect that you wince with pain for confused but fundamentally good Ruth as she walks a dead-end path. The book ends with the prospect of redemption, thank goodness--but the tale is nevertheless much more bitter than sweet.
Book Club Questions for The Book of Ruth (Oprah's Book Club) (Fiction)
Book Club Questions for The Book of Ruth (Oprah's Book Club) (for Non-Fiction)
Oprah Book Club® Selection, November 1996: The Book of Ruth is a virtuoso performance and that's precisely why it can be excruciating to read. Author Jane Hamilton leads us through the arid life of Ruth Grey, who extracts what small pleasures and graces she can from a tiny Illinois town and the broken people who inhabit it. Ruth's prime tormentor is her mother May, whose husband died in World War II and took her future with him. More poor familial luck has given Ruth a brother who is a math prodigy; Matt sucks up any stray attention like a black hole. Ruth is left to survive on her own resources, which are meager. She struggles along, subsisting on crumbs of affection meted out by her Aunt Sid and, later, her screwed-up husband Ruby. Hamilton has perfect pitch. So perfect that you wince with pain for confused but fundamentally good Ruth as she walks a dead-end path. The book ends with the prospect of redemption, thank goodness--but the tale is nevertheless much more bitter than sweet.
Book Club Questions for The Book of Ruth (Oprah's Book Club) (Fiction)
Book Club Questions for The Book of Ruth (Oprah's Book Club) (for Non-Fiction)
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Wow, that didn’t sound like a fun book to get through. I wonder why it made Oprah’s book club when it did. I guess it’s onto better books now. By the way, how do you choose which books to read next? I usually just have friends suggest books to me.
The last part of the book was actually very interesting, but still a little hard to follow. I finished the book. I know that this will not be a book that I recommend to others nor will read anything else by this author.
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Haven’t read this book, but I’m curious as to why it’s hard to read. Is it written in a bizarre style or is it just plain boring?
I just started reading this book and find it so hard to read. Has anyone else read this?
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