title: Ruby: A Novel (Oprahs Book Club 2.0)
author:  Cynthia Bond 
description: *Starred Review* Ephram Jennings, the son of a backwoods preacher, has been in love with the beautiful Ruby Bell ever since childhood. But Ruby has been so badly used by the men in her small African American town of Liberty, Texas, that she flees for New York City as soon as she is able, in search of the mother who abandoned her. When Rubys best friend dies, Ruby returns home, only to succumb to the bad memories that haunt her still. Once sharply dressed and coiffed, she now wanders the streets with ripped clothing and vacant eyes. But Ephram still sees her as the lighthearted girl with pigtails, running free in the woods. And so he begins his long, sweet courtship, bringing her a homemade cake, cleaning her filthy house, and always treating her with kindness. At long last, out from under his overbearing sisters dominion, he feels himself come alive. But the church folks in town view their relationship as the work of the devil and seek to bring Ephram back to God and to cast out Ruby. In her first novel, Bond immerses readers in a fully realized world, one scarred by virulent racism and perverted rituals but also redeemed by love. Graphic in its descriptions of sexual violence and suffering, this powerful, explosive novel is, at times, difficult to read, presenting a stark, unflinching portrait of dark deeds and dark psyches. --Joanne Wilkinson
zlib_text: ### About the Author
  
  
  
  
  
  Valerie Wood was born in Yorkshire, where she still lives. Her first novel,
  _The Hungry Tide_ , was the first winner of the Catherine Cookson Prize for
  Fiction.
  
  
  
  
  
  For more information on Val Wood and her books, see her website at
  [www.valeriewood.co.uk](http://www.valeriewood.co.uk)
  
  
  ### About the Book
  
  
  
  
  
  Ruby and Grace had grown up in the slums of Middle Court, the poorest place in
  Hull. Friends since early childhood, they had supported each other in bad
  times and good. Ruby’s ma, Bess, addicted to the opium which dulled the pain
  of her miserable existence, tried hard to be a good mother, but without too
  much success, while Grace’s parents, Bob and Lizzie, looked after the girl –
  as well as their own family – as best they could. But the two families were
  bound together by more than friendship, and secrets from the past threatened
  to make their hard lives even more difficult.
  
  
  
  
  
  The local cotton mill had provided work for Ruby and Grace since they were