Ruby (Oprah's Book Club 2.0)

The saddest book I have read in a long time but also the best book I have read in a long time. It is so beautifully written and at times so hard to read. This book is literature at it's best. I highly recommend it!

"When she got older and she began smelling like the wash she was taking in, Ruby saw it crush something inside her. For Maggie was meant to be the king of something. She was meant to puff out her chest and conquer worlds. But Ruby watched her join the army of black folks dragging off to Newton, their souls crumpled in their handkerchiefs until supper time. And while Maggie didn't droop her head as much as the rest, it still fell a bit to fit through the door of servitude."

I picked up Ruby hoping for a hauntingly beautiful Southern story, and that’s exactly what it gave — but whew, this book is HEAVY. Cynthia Bond’s writing is poetic and powerful, but the trauma runs deep and doesn’t let up. Abuse, violence, generational pain — it’s all layered in here, and while I respect the artistry, it just wasn’t something I could sit with mentally right now. If you’re in the right headspace for something raw, literary, and emotionally intense, Ruby might hit you in the soul. For me, I had to put it down, but I still admire the way Bond told such a gut-wrenching story with such lyrical prose.