This is a very well-written book, but there was something missing for me. As she was growing up in a poor, dysfunctional family, Ruth was considered a half-wit, especially in comparison with her brother, who is considered, and may very well be, a genius. We follow Ruth until she is in her early 20's, and we learn a lot about her and the anger always bubbling away inside of her. We also learn and the small moments of joy. Truth is, I didn't much like Ruth. The secondary characters are not as well drawn, and I would have liked to learn more about them, especially Matt, Aunt Sid, and Daisy. I'm very glad I read this generally well-written book, but I can't say that I enjoyed it.

3.75 rounded to 4 stars

This book was a huge dissapointment. The reader is forced to listen to the story of a woman who leads an unhappy and meaningless life. Throughout the eventless book you keep waiting for something to occur to make reason of the narrator's purpose in life, but instead find out that she is simply a pathetic and unhappy person. In the last few pages a huge twist occurs, but it is simply too late to indulge the reader, and is to much to take into too short of an amount of time. The only thing stopping me from giving this book a one is that the book was well written.

This book is quite sad but has an amazing voice. The protagonist, Ruth, was never encouraged to do much with her life and has always been told she was not quite that bright. However, she has some incredible insights into human nature and her story is very barebones. Hamilton writes Ruth in such a way that her thoughts about the world are those that many of us have but never reveal because of social custom. Ruth's ideas are often right on and her "alleged" stupidity allows her to state things in an incredibly honest manner. A very clever narrative.

Didn't really care for this book, but didn't hate it either. Not sure that I would recommend it. One of the reviewers of this book called it "a sly and wistful ... human comedy" and another said the "small-town characters are ... appealingly offbeat and brushed with grace" but I wonder if those reviewers read the same book that I did. I found the novel dispiriting, depressing, and rather boring. Perhaps if this was part of a series, and we could also hear others' stories (May's and Matt's and Ruby's and Justy's) in their own voices, I would like it better. Alone, it feels like there is not enough to explain Ruth's feelings, her background, and why she would put up with the things she did, instead of doing something to change them.

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 the ending - let me just say that while it is harsh, it is an eye opening juxtaposition between hum-drum and madness.

The Book of Ruth is a first rate novel with serious voice and achingly real people and situations. Let’s talk about the narrator’s voice - simple, mildly self-deprecating, sincere, and honest but most compellingly, it was such a true depiction of the voice of someone who has been emotionally and verbally abused. This was the thread that really caught me throughout the book and which caused the tears to flow when the reader finally discovers why Ruth is telling her story. There is a subtle tragedy before the greater one that grows, ebbs and flows, and eventually builds into the climax, which I will not share in order to not spoil the ending.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a sucker for nuanced characters, and Hamilton has done a remarkable job of creating characters who could walk off the page and into the laundromat. Not a single one of them is two dimensional; not a single archetype, angel, or demon. There is a reason (though that’s never an excuse) for every behavior that the characters engage in. There’s also some haunting foreshadowing and a setting that is firmly rooted in its time and place.
Some reviews have panned this book for not having a strong enough plot or for being about “poor people” and if you’ve read a review like that and are on the fence about reading this one, I’d really take it with a grain of salt. Though there are themes about poverty and there is a great deal of little moments before the primary plot is revealed, the story IS the characters and their lives and it stands on its own as a powerful, beautiful book.
I save 5 star ratings for books that are the whole package and that leave an indelible mark- though this one isn’t a 5 star, it’s definitely close- 4.5 for sure.

I'll never forget when I first saw this book. It was being carried in the arm of a woman who had had an affair with my second husband during the year 1993 when my daughter was only a year old. She was a woman I alternately despised and pitied, a neurotic mess who thrived on breaking up marriages and making women miserable, to prove something to herself, that she was some kind of Superstar in the sack or something. We just happened to be in the same bookstore, a few years after the affair had ended in Portland, Oregon, and as she passed in front of me, I saw the book pressed into her arm as she was preparing to purchase it. Instantly I was curious because of the odd title, referencing the biblical story. What was it that she found interesting about such a book? So, after I slipped away, I can't recall if we saw each other, I later purchased the book and read it.

It occurred some time later that it was one of the books that Oprah Winfrey promotes in her "Book Club" and as such had become extremely popular as a result. I found the storyline to be something you might find in any city, anywhere in America, a saga of regular people, or even what some would term White Trash. What I love about Jane Hamilton and "The Book of Ruth" is how she can make something ugly seem beautiful. She writes about Ruth and her boyfriend who then marries her, Rudy, in such uncompromising ways. She spares nothing, but the reader is left knowing who matters in the story. Yes, Rudy is tragic and he ends up destroying himself, in a way, but this story is about survival and its about how Ruth survives and is helped by another woman who tells her at one point, "Do you know how smart you are?" I loved that part. This poor girl, working class, who thinks she is nothing survives this horrible event and then goes onto what the reader hopes are bigger and better things.

The book is about compassion and survival. And it comes highly recommended.

I should have known better. I really should have. First, it was an Oprah book club pick, and second, it won some Hemingway writing award. I always find Oprah's picks terribly dark and I despise Hemingway. Sorry to all the Hemingway fans out there. BUT, on the back cover a review said the book was very "Dickensonian" and another said it had quirky off-beat characters in the vein of Anne Tyler--two authors that I happen to love, so I gave it whirl.

Ugh, ugh, ugh. I loathe ignorance. And the characters that fill this book are just so ignorant, and spiteful, and trashy, that I--well, it nearly turned my stomach at times.

Jane Hamilton can write, I give her that, but the material of this particular novel? I can't see that it adds anything worthwhile to the world. I really can't.

This is not necessarily a book one can “enjoy”. It is an older book that came out in the 80’s that was popular and I remember a reader friend of mine who exclaimed over it and said it was a great book club read, and that it was “dark “. At that stage of my life, I was knee deep in raising my daughter, working full time, doing the family stuff, and had no time for a book club. However I did read, but not this one. And frankly, I would not have appreciated it then-one needs life experience to appreciate this sort of book. So reading the reviews here on Goodreads has been eye-opening, with readers calling the characters “white trash” and exclaiming that Ruth should have risen up and overcome her horrible upbringing. Mind you, most of these reviews are pretty old, but I can only assume that these reviews were written by younger people who do not yet have some life experience and think anyone can overcome anything. And I may have agreed with them, if I had read this book when it came out and I was in my 20’s. But NOW I am in my 60’s, and I know the poverty and abuse and ignorance that Ruth endured was simply her life-she knew no other existence, so the fact that she was able to marvel at the beauty of nature, and that she was not full of hate and venom, is a true testament to the strength of the human spirit. And also it shows that if one person believes in you, it can tether you with a golden bond to that person who made it out of the chaos, and give you a sliver of shining hope. This was well written, raw, atmospheric in its desperation, and oddly hopeful, in a place where hope is scarce.

I finally finished this book which has been on my "could-not-finish" shelf for ages. What can I say... it is a lyrical book with beautiful prose, but the subject matter is extremely depressing and it never lifts itself up. It's like Hamilton has never heard the term "comic relief". I loved Jane Hamilton's "A Map of the World" and "A Short History of a Prince", but this book made me weary of Hamilton's metaphor-a-minute writing and her continuous dwelling on everything ugly about people. Everyone says that this book has a hopeful ending; well, that's not saying much considering that there is no where else to go at the end of this book except up.

My mother-in-law read this on Oprah's suggestion, then she asked me to read it so we could discuss it. We both hated it. There is no way the reader can accept the self-consciously literary narrator as Ruth, who tells us repeatedly how stupid and illiterate she is. Likewise I found Hamilton's attempts to empathize with her characters both shallow and condescending. The only reason I finished this book was to discover what horrible thing had happened, as was referred to on the first page...the answer wasn't worth it. Hamilton has used every literary device at her disposal, and she is clearly a skilled writer. Unfortunately, her dislike or disrespect for her characters distances the reader, and the literary skill is wasted.

I thought this book was a great read. I loved Ruth’s impressions and observations of the world in which she lived. Not a happy world, not happy people, not even really very happy herself … and yet she plodded onward, as we do, with at least a bit of humor, a modicum of hope, love (even though one could argue it was misplaced). Another interesting read in which one is stuck, resigned to the lot given to them by their specific circumstances. Perhaps she could have changed her world but she never was given the tools or self esteem to accomplish that formidable task. I’m not sure exactly why but I found her very relatable. I appreciate authors that delve into uncomfortable lives and I feel that as a reader (heck, as a human) we should read about those lives without judgment.