Ruth: A Novel

By: Kate Riley

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Synopsis: &“It would never work out, but I&’m in love with Ruth.&”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post&“There are inklings of greatness in Kate Riley&’s first novel… I suspect it will become an underground classic.&”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times&“Irresistibly smart and funny.&” —Jenny Offill, author of Weather and Dept. of Speculation&“The serenely weird testament of an unintentional heroine in an intentional community, and an act of novelistic grace that deserves not only cult status but its own religion.&” —Joshua Cohen, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning The NetanyahusIn this mesmerizing and profound novel, the arc of a woman's life in a devout, insular community challenges our deepest assumptions about what infuses life with meaning.Ruth is raised in a snow globe of Christian communism, a world without private property, television, or tolerance for idle questions. Every morning she braids her hair and wears the same costume, sings the same breakfast song in a family room identical to every other family room in the community; every one of these moments is meant to be a prayer, but to Ruth they remain puzzles. Her life is seen in glimpses through childhood, marriage, and motherhood, as she tries to manage her own perilous curiosity in a community built on holy mystery. Is she happy? Might this in fact be happiness? Ruth immerses us in an experience that challenges our most fervent beliefs.