Just Jennifer

Ruby by Cynthia Bond (Hogarth, April 29, 2014)

Ruby is “the kind of pretty it hurts to look at” and Ephram has been in love with Ruby since they were children in East Texas.  Over thirty years later, Ruby has returned from New York City, even more damaged then when she left, the town shunning her, Ephram determined to save and redeem his Ruby.  With writing that is of another time, each character has a distinctive voice: Ruby is so haunting, Ephram’s sister Celia overbearing and authoritative, and Ephram, a dream-like quality, never forgetting Ruby in all his years.  The dusty East Texas setting from Celia’s spotless kitchen to the alley outside the grocery where men gather to trade gossip and bootleg whiskey adds to the overall atmosphere.  The structure of the narrative is very effective as the scenes seamlessly shift between the past and present, slowly revealing a full picture of Ruby and what she endured during her life.  Each detail from the old lady’s shack in the woods to when and how water is used to the black crows is significant and perfectly placed.  Beautiful and hauntingly horrifying as Epharam takes on an entire town to save the woman with whom he fell in love as a child and still loves as a man.