An American beauty this book . . . The narrator of Jane Hamiltons sensational first novel is a holy lusty innocent. VOGUE Ms. Hamilton gives Ruth a humble dignity and allows her hope but its not a heavenly hope. Its a common one, caked with mud and held with gritted teeth. And its probably the only kind thats worth reading about. NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Hamiltons story builds to a shocking crescendo. Her small-town characters are as appealingly offbeat and brushed with grace as any found in Alice Hoffmans or Anne Tylers novels. GLAMOUR Jane Hamiltons novel is authentically Dickensian . . . The real achievement of this first novel is not so much the blackness as the suggestion of resilience. At the end, Ruth begins to put together her shattered body, spirit and life. Her words are awkward, as they have been all along, but suddenly and unexpectedly they shine. LOS ANGELES TIMES