The Book of Ruth
Jane Hamilton is a twice selected author for Oprah's Book Club, and a PEN/Hemingway Award winner. Her debut novel follows Ruth Grey, a young woman in a small farm town in Illinois, who finds what pleasures and grace notes she can, having lost her father to World War II, and her mother in favor of her math-prodigy brother. A review says, "The book ends with the prospect of redemption, thank goodness." Recommended for fans of Jane Smiley, Alice Hoffman, and Anne Tyler.
Publisher’s description:
PEN/Hemingway Award Winner: An “enthralling” novel of a woman trapped within a tragically dysfunctional family (Entertainment Weekly).
From the New York Times–bestselling author of The Excellent Lombards and A Map of the World, this is “an extraordinary story of a family’s disintegration [that] will be compared to Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres” (People). It follows Ruth Grey, a young woman in a tiny Illinois farm town, who has lost her father to World War II, and constantly faces her unhappy mother’s wrath—when she isn’t being ignored in favor of her math-prodigy brother. As Ruth navigates her lonely life, she strives to find happiness and pleasure where she can, but the world may conspire to defeat her.