For me, each sentence is full of rich, vibrant descriptions and even when there are darker tales to be told, there is such beauty in the words chosen by Cynthia Bond. Ruby has a fight of her own, if she isn’t being used as a toy by the local men then she is being hunted down by an evil spirit, eventually the town turns against the pair and there may be only one way out. Ephram must choose between the sister who brought him up as if he were her own child and the love and loyalty he has for Ruby.

When Ruby has no choice but to return to Liberty, both her life and the quiet life of Ephram are thrown into chaos. Ephram however, has spent his years living with his sister Celia, with only a smudge of hope in his heart that he may see Ruby again. Having escaped their hometown of Liberty, Ruby has spent her time weaving in and out of people’s lives in New York. Ephram’s heart has always belonged to Ruby, whist hers has been torn, beaten, battered and left for dead by men and women along the journey from childhood innocence to adulthood. acquired in June 2022.Įphram and Ruby have known each other most of their lives, yet their paths have rarely crossed. I can’t wait to see what’s up next for Cynthia Bond.This post was originally published at and is now at. This lady keeps busy teaches writing to teens at an adolescent treatment centre, and I hope we hear more from her soon.

I also find novels infused with dialect to be greatly enriched by hearing them out loud.

To understand the intended rhythm and cadence, I would suggest getting your hands on the audio version of that scene (or the book in its entirety if possible), as it is powerfully read by the author herself in an adrenaline filled whirlwind. subtle choppiness.īut I have to say, the reason why I think readers who are interested in experiencing diverse, challenging and experimental writing styles in their reading lives need only delve in to page 14, where there is a brilliant scene that combines a dialogue between two people, with the lyrics of the hymn playing in the background, and the steady onomatopoeia of the task at hand. Graphic violence, sexual exploitation and rape. Though this book hold’s its own, it is reminiscent of the ToMo classic in its subject matter- Deep South. Ruby has been most often compared to the ineffable Toni Morrison’s Beloved. I have read several of last year’s longlist actually, and they have all been wonderful.

I have finally read an Oprah book pick before the title was selected for the honour! The reason I picked up Cynthia Bond’s Ruby is because it was nominated for the Flaherty Dunnan First Novel Award in 2014.

Ruby and cynthia