I have to admit, when I started out reading this book, I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. I'd just finished a load of sci-fi and fantasy and was very much in the mood for some more, and the blurb of this made me think it was going to be very depressing.
Whilst Ruth has a hard life - sometimes her misfortune just seems a little over the top - the book is not necessarily a depressing read. I actually really enjoyed it, the writing style was good and the story well developed, with some dark twists mixed in.
There was perhaps a little too much foreshadowing in some areas, which made it far too easy to guess what was going to happen, and the blurb gave away too much of the plot in my opinion, but apart from that it was a very good read. Ruth is a strong character, who could have easily been beaten down by the hardships she faces through her life, and I'm glad that she eventually gets a happy ending. I also liked the glimpse into life in (what is now) Papua New Guinea, as I don't really believe I've read any books set in that country, and I also think I've only read a few set in Australia. I particularly enjoyed the start of the book, I was not expecting a big plane crash to set the story up!
Overall, I was very impressed by this book. I started reading it thinking I wasn't going to enjoy it, not being a massive fan of books set during the 1950s, but it turned out to be a rather moving novel, portraying a young girl from her late teens to adulthood and the hardships she goes through, with some shocking twists. I don't remember spotting any typos or grammatical errors and the writing flowed very well.

Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Through the laughter, the tears and the totally heart wrenching moments throughout this story I was engrossed in this story. What a story it is... as a young woman strives to make a good life for her children and meets with all the trials and tribulations that entails. This one was hard to put down and unfortunately I received it during the holiday season when I absolutely had to put it down. An awesome story told by an author who truly feels the characters she writes about. I definitely look forward to more from Marlene S. Lewis. ( )

Full review coming soon. I just finished this. Couldn't put it down! It's a combination of family saga and historical fiction with the same feeling that I got from the Poisonwood Bible! Wow!
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Full review here:
http://guiltlessreading.blogspot.com/2012/01/ruth-by-marlene-lewis.html

We are the product of our times.

The book in one sentence: Ruth faces trial and tribulation while discovering the truth about herself and her family in Papua New Guinea.

My thoughts: This is inspiring, is historical, and it hits home. Ruth by Marlene S. Lewis is a story is about an Australian woman who grew up in Papua New Guinea in the 1950-60s. It is a life story - of hardship and struggle - steeped in an era of stormy civil rights clashes and colonialism.

Ruth is the only daughter of coffee plantation owners John and Alice Madison. Coming home to the Owen Stanley Ranges in Papua New Guinea after a term in boarding school, she puzzles over why everyone is acting so strange. Until she witnesses her mother thus:
"Looks like the rain's going to set in," Bert said, as they glanced out through the trellis to watch the heavy downpour bucketing over the outbuildings.
"Oh my goodness, who on earth is that?" Myrtle said as her hand swept to her mouth. "Oh heavens above, it's a white woman with no clo..."
Everyone stared in horror. There was Alice, sitting on an oil drum in the pouring rain.
And with that dramatic ending on page 32, Marlene Lewis had me up until 2:00 am!

The whole book is about Ruth from young woman to adulthood. We follow her from one calamity to another - innocent young girl, pregnant young woman forced to deal with hardships way beyond her years, settling down, and finally reinventing herself. I thought that the story would end there but no, there is more. Believe me, what this woman went through is nothing to scoff at.

Ruth is a tough woman, reminiscent of the pioneer women, and anything life throws at her, she deals with and moves on. But she doesn't escape unscathed, and she retains an emotional vulnerability that I am sure many people can relate to. In the midst of all these trials, Ruth relies heavily on her family and her friendships. Marlene Lewis does a wonderful job of keeping Ruth and her reletionships both believable and inspiring.

What I found most fascinating about this book: it is based on the history of Papua New Guinea, a country that has a colonial past - under the Dutch, the British, and the Australians (during which this story is set in, in the 1950s-60s). This makes for the rich, and rather explosive dynamics between the locals and the colonizers. There is the master-servant attitude with abuse commonplace, accepted, and even taken for the norm; an unspoken segregation and discrimination; a taboo of relationships between these two groups; and lastly the conflicting views of either resignedness to or challenging the status quo. {Sidenote: I grew up in the Philippines which also has a strong colonial past and the similarities resonate with me.}

Ruth's naive picture of her idyllic life in Papua New Guinea is painfully shattered. Without giving out too much information and spoiling things for you: the milieu plays such a critical role in these truths; it permeates these truths. She finds out why her mother was acting so strangely that day, the events that led to her father's suspicious death, the reasons for her brother's longstanding hostility, and the true identity of her beloved childhood sweetheart. I was in probably in shock mode for the most part, as I was learning history in a much more realistic way through these characters' lives.
♥
First line: Friday 14th December 1956 had arrived at last.

Random quote: "You know, Ruthy, Christmas can be one of the saddest times as you get older. We lose people along the way of life, people who have been special to us; then Christmas comes and they aren't with us, and it's like losing them all over again." - p. 237

Verdict: This is an engrossing read which gives plenty of food for thought about womanhood, family relationships and friendships, and the cultures which shapes us into the people we become and the lives we live.

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers. ( )