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Ruby: A Novel - Cynthia Bond
Ruby: A Novel
by: (author)
4.30 100
The epic, unforgettable love story of a man determined to protect the woman he loves from the town desperate to destroy her--this visceral and haunting debut heralds the arrival of a major new voice in fictionEphram Jennings has never forgotten the beautiful girl with the long braids running... show more
The epic, unforgettable love story of a man determined to protect the woman he loves from the town desperate to destroy her--this visceral and haunting debut heralds the arrival of a major new voice in fictionEphram Jennings has never forgotten the beautiful girl with the long braids running through the piney woods of Liberty, their small East Texas town. Young Ruby, "the kind of pretty it hurt to look at," has suffered beyond imagining, so as soon as she can, she flees suffocating Liberty for the bright pull of 1950s New York. Ruby quickly winds her way into the ripe center of the city--the darkened piano bars and hidden alleyways of the Village--all the while hoping to see the red hair and green eyes of her mother. When the funeral of her childhood best friend forces her to return home, thirty-year-old Ruby Bell will find herself reliving the devastating violence of her girlhood. With the terrifying realization that she might not be strong enough to fight her way back out, Ruby struggles to survive her memories of the town's dark past. Meanwhile, Ephram must choose between loyalty to the sister who raised him and the chance for a life with the woman he has loved since he was a boy.     Full of life, exquisitely written, and suffused with the pastoral beauty of the rural South, Ruby carries the reader along in a rush: through the red dust and gossip of Main Street, to the pit fire where men swill bootleg outside Bloom's Juke, to Celia Jennings's kitchen where a cake is being made, yolk by yolk, that Ephram will use to try to begin again with Ruby. With a sense of the poetry and power of Toni Morrison, an ingenious structure, and a breathtaking, lyrical prose all her own, Cynthia Bond creates an unflinching portrait of man's dark acts and the promise of the redemptive power of love.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9780804139090 (0804139091)
ASIN: 804139091
Pages no: 336
Edition language: English
Category:
Literary Fiction
Bookstores:
Community Reviews
KatieMc
KatieMc rated it
3.5 it left an impression on me
Ruby was a book that I started on blind faith in an author's tweeted recommendation. I had no mental preparation for the what I was to experience. On several occasions I considered not finishing. I did not have fun reading Ruby. I am left wondering how reading a book like this has meaning.I had a ha...
Word Bookie
Word Bookie rated it
3.0 Ruby- Not my cup of tea, Mama. Reading progress update: I've read 50%.
I was encouraged to read Ruby for my next review by a dear colleague of mine, and I had high hopes especially since I take her wisdom and knowledge of literature seriously and with an open mind. Knowing that she and I may not have the same interests in literature, I am always up for reading somethin...
Memories From Books on Booklikes
Memories From Books on Booklikes rated it
5.0 Ruby: A Novel
Ruby by Cynthia Bond is set in small rural town in East Texas. It is a story of the terrible secrets a small town can hold. This book takes on some extremely challenging topics - physical and psychological abuse, prostitution, abandonment, racism, and devil worship. Be prepared, this is not an easy ...
Bright and Shiny Shiny
Bright and Shiny Shiny rated it
5.0 Ruby: A Novel
Dark and beautiful and harrowing. More than once I found myself holding my breath as I read passages. This book was absolutely amazing but if you have issues with abuse and dark subject matter this may not be the book for you. Horrible things happen in the world and while the book was ultimate...
Chris Blocker
Chris Blocker rated it
5.0 Ruby
Ruby is such an extraordinary novel. I sort of feel sorry for it and its author because I worry it will not get the attention it deserves. It's written so well and the story is so captivating, but the subject and some of those scenes will surely alienate many. Cynthia Bond writes like a young Toni...
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