A Virtuous Woman (Oprah's Book Club) | Kaye Gibbons

A Virtuous Woman (Oprah's Book Club) | Kaye Gibbons | Nothing but enjoyable!

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A Virtuous Woman (...

	A Virtuous Woman (Oprah's Book Club) Kaye Gibbons Vintage, 1997 - 176 pages average customer review:based on 108 reviews view larger image
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Excellent Read

Beautifully written, A Virtuous Women, is the quiet love story of Ruby Pitt Woodrow, daughter of a rich farmer, and Jack Stokes, a tenant farmer. At first they seem an unlikely match, Ruby, although 20 years younger than Jack, is already widowed, Jack, unattractive and unsuccessful, has never been married. But both have had tough lives. Ruby is alienated from her parents due to her brief marriage which was a disaster. She is working as a maid when she meets Jack. Jack has never had much, although his dream is to own a piece of land. Together they find, if not what they were looking for, a sense of completeness.

The book is written in first person narration with both Jack and Ruby narrating alternate chapters (except the last chapter which is written in the third person). This technique helps make both characters seem real. For me, personally, Jack was the character I most cared about, mostly because we know from the very beginning that Ruby dies and we see that Jack is lost without her.

This is one of those simple, quiet kind of books where there is little action or plot, just the story of two people who come to love and care for each other. Yet, it's the kind of story that will stay with you long after you've read it.

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Nothing but enjoyable!

This is an amazing book on so many levels. I particlarly like the way the story was told from two different points of view--from that of the two main characters. The swing back and forth was most effective and Gibbons knows how to get us wrapped up in a story. The writing is good--on the same level as McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" or Conroy's "Prince of Tides" and the pacing and character development is excellent. I could have wished for a slightly different ending, but then, it's Gibbon's book and not mine. Overall, highly recommended.

Also recommended: ON THE OCCASION OF MY LAST AFTERNOON and Jackson McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD. Both are great reads.

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Review on "A Virtuous Woman"

This book was a love story about a daughter from Carolina who was brought up carefully and a farmer who never in his life had the chance to own anything. They both came from different backgrounds. The daughter?s name was Ruby Pitt Woodrow and the farmer?s mane was Blinking Jack Stokes. Ruby first became a widow after a brutal relationship she was in with John Woodrow. She gave her parents and her two brothers a surprise when she ran away with John. John was also a farmer and died in a brawl. Considering she was a brought up well and with proud she didn?t ask her parents for help. So, she decided to go work at a wealthy home with the Hoover family. This is where she first meets Jack. When Jack first meets Ruby she was twenty and he was forty and they got married five months later. At first they weren?t in love, but then after a while when they started to need each other and became they were there for each other. Ruby become sick with cancer and really needed Jack more then ever. It starts with Jack grieving over the death of Ruby. While the rest oh the chapters gives flashbacks on the past. Both jack and Ruby were very lonely and in the need of wanting at the beginning. They received a lot a support by friends that they had. This book is a very touching novel and gives strong emotions. It shows the different between two lovers who have very different backgrounds and end up falling in love with each other. I recommend this book to others because it is not hard to read and it?s easy to understand. This love story make people think about how others don?t really miss something or someone until it?s gone. People take things for granted when it?s there but when it?s not there no more then they stop to think about what really just happened.

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The Virtuous Woman

"The Virtuous Woman" written by Kaye Gibbons, is a novel about an unlikely couple. Ruby Pitt Woodrow, the daughter of prosperous farmers and Jack Stokes, an unattractive and unsuccessful tenant farmer. They share the details of their life in alternating chapters. At first the unusual narration appears confusing, but it clarifies what Jack or Ruby is trying to express. In the first chapter Jack is describing his life without Ruby. Knowing that she dies of lung cancer from the beginning of the story weakens the plot. However, it allows you to focus more on the characters and their interaction with each other. The author's reason for revealing Ruby's death becomes more obvious when Ruby starts narrating the second chapter. She begins preparing frozen food for Jack so he can have nourighing meals after she is gone. Her love and concern for his well-being was showing through her selfless acts, therefore strengthening the weak story line. Expecting a religious based book from the title of the novel, the reviewer was hindered by that assumption. It could have been enjoyed more if it was read with an open mind. In the book of Proverbs, chapter thirty-one, verse ten reads, "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." To Jack, Ruby is worth far more than any precious stone. Even though this was not the type of religious story the reader was looking for, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The fact that two people can see past their differences to find a love that is pure, unselfish, and stong is powerful. As a romance nvel it stands out above the rest.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

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