The Red Dirt Hymnbook by Roxie Faulkner Kirk
Genre:
Historical Fiction, Domestic Christian Drama
3.2 Stars
Ruby Fae
McKeever understands at last that marrying JW and living on a bus with his
parents was not a good idea. She and her almost one-year-old baby girl are feeling
suffocated. Ruby is cut off from her family, abused in the name of being
learning to be a dutiful Christian and an obedient wife. Her husband can never
come out from his father’s influence. Ruby can’t live with them anymore. She
needs to go home. But when? And most importantly, how?
The premise of
the book was excellent. The cover was perfect. I was rooting for Ruby from the very first page of the
book. But guess what? It took her until the last page to get there. I never it
wasn’t going to be easy. There would be pressure, manipulation, and abuse.
After all, those who preach are the last ones to follow it.
But what
disappointed me was the way the story went on and on. Even the 250 pages seemed
like a lot at one point in time. There is too much stream of consciousness in
the narration. Stories from the past pop into the storyline at random. Ruby
keeps getting distracted at the slightest hint. I did like some of those, but
they stretched the original plotline more than necessary.
And Ruby’s
wavering mind wasn’t any help either. While it seemed realistic that her plans
would go wrong, I just wished she put up more fight. Even towards the end, it
wasn’t her who takes charge of the situation. At some point, she had to learn
and stop being stupid, but she doesn’t.
Reading about abuse
is never easy, and this book was no exception. It only made me want to knock
some sense into Ruby and ask her to use her brain.
Finally, when I
thought it was going to end, there came another flashback story. Not sure how
it would help as I felt nothing change in me towards any of the characters.
Overall, the
theme deserved better treatment and tighter editing. The story has a happy
ending, and well, the book did evoke emotions in me, so it’s a decent read. I
just wish it was even better.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am sharing this review voluntarily.
#BookSirens
New about an online book. Happy to inform the success of Online Handbook of Industrial Engineering - 2019 Version - Narayana Rao A to Z 2020 Blogger.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, sir. :) I will surely check it out.
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