The Book of Ruth, Jane Hamilton
The Book of Ruth, Jane Hamilton
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The Book of Ruth

Author: Jane Hamilton

Narrator: Mare Winningham

Abridged: 4 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/01/1997


Synopsis

"I learned slowly, that if you don't look at the world with perfect vision, you 're bound to get yourself cooked "

Having come within an inch of her life, Ruth Dahl is determined to take a good look at it -- to figure out whether, in fact, she's to blame for the mess.

Pegged the loser in a small-town family that doesn't have much going for it in the first place, Ruth grows up in the shadow of her brilliant brother, trying to hold her own in a world of poverty and hard edges. Matt's brain is his ticket out of Honey Creek. Ruth, without options, cleaves instead to her tough, half-crazy mother, May, and eventually to Ruby, the sweet but slightly deranged young man she loves, marries, and supports. When the precarious household erupts in violence, Ruth is the only one who can piece their story together -- and she gets at the truth in a manner at once ferocious, hilarious, and heartbreaking.

In this powerful, incandescent novel, Jane Hamilton has worked a miracle: she has given voice to a young woman you have passed on the street a thousand times. Perhaps you have never noticed her, hut the next time you see her, you will know who she is.

Passionate in her commitment to life, Ruth is a stunning testament to the human capacity for mercy, compassion, and love. THE BOOK OF RUTH is a magnificent audio experience.

Copyright © 1997 by Jane Hamilton

Performance copyright 1997 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

About Mare Winningham

Mare Winningham has appeared in more than fifty film and television projects, garnering an Academy Award nomination for Georgia and Emmy Awards for the telefilms George Wallace and Amber Waves. She is also an accomplished singer-songwriter.


Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Nicole on 2009-07-01 11:48:15

Worth reading

Goodreads review by Christina on September 07, 2016

I am really surprised by all of the negative reviews of this book. I think it is so strange that the characters are discounted as "white trash", their story thus, uninteresting or too dreary. While the story is by no means a happy one it is highly engrossing and worth telling. Hamilton's narrator Ru......more

Goodreads review by Jodie on May 11, 2008

This is one of my all-time favorite books. It's a book that changes one's perspective on people and walking a mile in other's shoes before judging. Did your school have one or two or maybe more kids that were just "off" -- easy targets for bullies and even kids who usually seemed nice? In this book......more

Goodreads review by Ann on March 24, 2008

people complain about ruth being "white trash," but i think they are missing the whole point - putting yourself in a world not your own. i grew to adore ruth as i experienced her small-town world. i found her ability to daydream and fantasize intelligent and mesmerizing. people also complain about t......more

Goodreads review by Michelle on January 15, 2008

This is Jane Hamilton's first novel and it is a whopper. It's the story of a small-town girl and her struggles with growing up with a mother who's lost any compassion or sweetness and a brother she can't relate to. This girl, Ruth, despite an intelligence that she's unaware of and so is everyone els......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on December 30, 2009

I gave this book four stars, but I can't say I actually enjoyed it. I turned the pages out of a compulsive voyeurism, the way one might stick one's ear against the wall to eavesdrop on the dysfunctional family next door. It's not that you enjoy hearing the domestic violence break out--the screams, t......more