Ruth

Really scratches the itch of ‘voyeuristic curiosity about what goes on in fundamentalist religious communities’ and is also so well written that it’s freakishly astonishing that it’s a first novel. Also: funny. * New York Magazine, Emily Gould *Cheeky, inquisitive … A charming deep dive into the life and faith of one devout yet contrary everywoman. * Kirkus, starred review *An irresistibly smart and funny novel * Jenny Offill, author of Weather, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize For Fiction *The serenely weird testament of an unintentional heroine in an intentional community and an act of novelistic grace that deserves not only cult status but its own religion. * Joshua Cohen, The Netanyahus, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2022 *A delightful, quietly explosive, triumph of a novel, Ruth shimmers with a quiet sadness whilst being almost fiendishly playful. A marvel. I can imagine how readers of Marilynne Robinson will absolutely press it to their hearts. * Gemma Reeves, author of Mamele *A detailed, delicate study of how character is formed by collision with so many sharp corners that they form a perfect circle – how we entrap ourselves in the choices of others, glimpsing freedom in flashes like lightning on the horizon. * Nell Zink, author of Mislaid, listed for the National Book Award *

Kate Riley was born in New York City and now lives on a farm in rural Virginia. Drawn from her experience living in such a community, Ruth is her first novel.