RUBY

Cynthia Bond narrates her own rich novel with a deliberate, almost sleepy pace reminiscent of the plodding tempo of life in East Texas in the 1950s--but too tedious for this listener's taste. Bond employs a rich, softly rounded accent for the voice of Ruby, a beautiful but simple-minded mixed-race girl who survives abuse and child prostitution. But Bond's flat, methodical tone for her narrative doesn't enhance her exquisite prose. As Ruby's persecution eventually results in borderline insanity, she experiences a supernatural side to her desolate life, simultaneously lovely and terrifying. The deep darkness of this novel, rife with racism and violence, is relieved by Ruby's journey to overcome her demons. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2015]