Ruth

A Novel

By: Kate Riley

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

Named a Wall Street Journal Top 10 Book of 2025

Named a Washington Post Top 10 Fiction Book of 2025

Named a Best Book of the Year by Vulture, Marie Claire and Vanity Fair

"I loved RUTH."—Lorde

“It would never work out, but I’m in love with Ruth.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

“A wonderful, loving, tenderly teasing and often moving portrait … [a] standout.”—Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal

“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

In 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.

There is no plot here

It's called a novel but it's more like a character study in vignettes throughout Ruth's life that are very lyrical. I love a good character-driven novel, but there has to be some kind of plot. None to be found here. Also, for such a deep dive into who Ruth is, I felt really disconnected from here and didn't care what happened to her.

I'd recommend this one if you're sick in bed and dozing fitfully. You can sleep through two hours and miss nothing (but good writing) since it's plotless.

Hice snapshot of an individual over a lifetime

I really enjoyed this well written story of the life of a Hutterite woman from the perspective of an individual. The community, while prescriptive and restrictive, did not opress Ruth. I got the impresión that the Hutterites actual y Tri to be good people. Inusual y don’t like fiction because most introduce the impossible. Not in this case. Every bit of the story could be probable.

Boring

Has no real story. It’s more like a (fake). Non-fiction. Couldn’t finish it. Not even character development

Dull

No plot or character development . Narrator was just as dull.. it’s not really a novel

Not What You Think

This is a story about a religious cult but it’s a very gentle cult - more like a religious order of hardworking individuals who think collectively. You won’t read about child sexual abuse, or horrors enacted upon women. Instead, you are privy to Ruth’s thoughts throughout all the seasons of her life. Is she a good member of this order? A bad one? Is she happy? Is she fulfilled? I think the best word to describe the book is quotidian, and in daily moments it can be difficult to recognize our true feelings overall. I loved this for the beautiful writing and the regular rhythms but I can see where it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.