Ruby group discussion (Aug '15)

[Alexa]

Lots of people have been raving about this. I just got my copy from the library today - so as of yet I don't know a thing about it.

[Alexa]

So, who has read this already and who is planning on reading it this month with us?

[Taylor]

I have already read it and thought it was pretty great. Definitely trigger warning for anyone wanting to avoid violence/abuse, but the writing was so powerful I couldn't stop once I picked it up so encourage everyone to give it a try.
I wrote a brief review on my blog
http://foxonanisland.com/2015/02/26/b...

[Alexa]

I count at least 13 of us who have posted that they are about to or are currently reading this, and 3 who really liked it or loved it. Any thoughts so far? (For those of us still at the beginning?)

[Kay]

I am a third of the way in and so far this book reads very much like Beloved to me - a little in the style maybe and all of the magical realism. It is also a little slow - Ephram is still on his way with the cake(I understand that it's a device for us to learn more about what has happened to the characters up to this point, but it is just so slow). Anyone else feel the same way? I am still really looking forward to find out what happened to Ruby..

[Taylor]

I'm really excited to see what everyone thought of this. It was heartbreaking and pretty gritty, but I thought the language and imagery was also quite stunning.

[Alexa]

I just started this (finished chapter 2) and I'm really enjoying it. I had to take a deep breath and adjust to her writing style, but now I'm quite enjoying her poetry. I also had to make the mental shift from realism to fantasy - because issues of mental health play out so differently depending on the genre you're in! (And, for example, is a black crow in the yard a descriptive element or a vital plot element?) But I'm having fun!

[Alexa]

Kay wrote: "It is also a little slow - Ephram is still on his way with the cake(I understand that it's a device for us to learn more about what has happened to the characters up to this point, but it is just so slow). Anyone else feel the same way?..."

Ah yes, that long cake journey! I had to go back and reread the early sentence to verify that the cake does indeed make its way across town!

I'm almost half-way and having mixed feelings about this - it's sort of straddling a line between fairy tale and magical realism - which can make it tricky to judge the meaning of various events. And some of the people seem a little too good or evil.

[Alexa]

Oh dear - and then I hit the really really grim stuff!

I love the scene where he's washing her hair, that was beautiful - then I realize that Part 3 is titled "Revelations." I don't want any more revelations! I've had far too many revelations! And here I was actually hoping for some future happiness - how naive of me!

[Kay]

My opinion on this books changed so much as I was reading it - I don't think that happens often. The beginning was so slow, I was losing interest, but the last two-thirds were absolutely beautiful.
The hair-washing scene was amazing - that was the most gentle part of the book for me. There were so many themes in that one scene, and so well done too. Then, it got really depressing and violent, (the magical realism somewhat helps to digest the violent parts, but they were still difficult to read).

[Alexa]

I keep stumbling on the fact that sometimes her evil characters are meant to be human beings and sometimes evil spirits. Either one would be fine with me but when it's both I'm left uncertain - are we talking about evil in the hearts of mankind and its causes, or are we discussing evil as a thinking entity?