Breakaway Books

Authored by Kate Riley; Published August 2025; Historical Fiction

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ruth is not a barn-burner of a book, and while I enjoy getting to put myself in the shoes of an entirely different person, I would have appreciated just a little more happening in this novel.

In Ruth, we follow the titular character, a slightly odd woman born into a strict Anabaptist community. As she grows up, marries, and has kids of her own, it becomes more and more apparent that she’s just a little stranger and a little more introspective than the people around her. Ensconced in the community, she suffers heartbreak, post-partum depression, and the departure of her son, but she never leaves herself.

The content of this novel is intellectually attractive: This community, in the heart of the United States, lives isolated and in a completely different way from the rest of the nation. I would be lying if I said I didn’t find some of the ins and outs of Ruth’s home intriguing. But “intriguing” is not enough to make a compelling novel, and like a few others that I’ve read, this book fails to feel like it has a point. Ruth is born, Ruth lives. That’s it; that’s the whole novel, really. There’s no dynamism, no conflict or climax, and honestly? I was surprised. I kept expecting her to break loose and decide she was going to make her own way in the world outside of the strictures of the community.

But the meta-commentary on religion in this novel is of note. If you’ve had any lived experience inside a fairly conservative religious institution, some of the thought patterns of Ruth and her neighbors will resonate with you. The extremes to which they go to demonstrate their modesty and selflessness seem dramatic when compared with our modern society, but come from a logical progression of thought. While there is a lack of individual autonomy depicted that truly bothers me, I was enticed by the abundant support each member of the community was offered. I enjoyed the ways that the community even seemed to delight in loving each other. There is something there, in that concept of living lives together, that it is easy for us to miss now. 

If you are interested in the ins and outs of conservative religion, you may find Ruth worth your time. Otherwise, skip it.