Saving Ruby King
A Novel
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- ¥1,700
発行者による作品情報
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by Ms. Magazine, USA Today Book Riot, The Rumpus, Library Journal, PureWow, The Every Girl, Parade and more.
“Forever and to the end. That’s what they say instead of I love you.”
When Ruby King’s mother is found murdered in their home in Chicago’s South Side, the police dismiss it as another act of violence in a black neighborhood. But for Ruby, it’s a devastating loss that leaves her on her own with her violent father. While she receives many condolences, her best friend, Layla, is the only one who understands how this puts Ruby in jeopardy.
Their closeness is tested when Layla’s father, the pastor of their church, demands that Layla stay away. But what is the price for turning a blind eye? In a relentless quest to save Ruby, Layla uncovers the murky loyalties and dangerous secrets that have bound their families together for generations. Only by facing this legacy of trauma head-on will Ruby be able to break free.
An unforgettable debut novel, Saving Ruby King is a powerful testament that history doesn’t determine the present and the bonds of friendship can forever shape the future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
West's ambitious, keenly observant debut follows two friends growing up on Chicago's South Side, where the cycle of domestic violence repeats over generations. When Ruby King's mother, Alice, is murdered, Ruby loses her protector, and her best friend, Layla Potter, works diligently to fill the role. West unfolds the map of their neighborhood and their families' connections in chapters alternating between the present and the 1960s, when Ruby's father, Lebanon, the child of his mother Sara's rape by her own father, is abused by her. Traumatized, Lebanon becomes abusive in turn on his own family. As a teenager, Lebanon's childhood friend Jackson, Layla's father, was responsible for another teenage boy's death, but Lebanon is imprisoned for manslaughter in his stead. Freed after five years, Lebanon starts blackmailing Jackson, now pastor of Calvary Hope Christian Church. (In a remarkably effective literary device, West has the church building itself "narrate" some of the chapters.) As Layla vows to rescue Ruby from Lebanon's rage and self-harm after Alice's murder especially after Layla dreams of three mysterious matriarchs insisting "Go!" plot twists lead to a climactic confrontation in Ruby's grandmother's Tennessee home. Despite some excessive melodrama and repetitive dialogue, West's tale of grace, redemption, and hope would translate handily to the screen. This should enjoy wide popularity with book groups.
