BOOK OF RUTH, THE

Beat by beat, a young woman charts the best and worst impulses of the heart as she looks back at those who shaped her life. What unfolds is an emotional journey that becomes a testament to the human capacity for mercy, compassion, and the unavoidable, heart-wrenching twists of fate.

“I’m the only one who can tell the story from beginning to end.” They’re the words of a poor, tremulous young woman, Ruth Grey (Nicholle Tom, The Princess Diaries). The police have been called to her family’s rural Illinois home at the scene of a terrible and violent crime. Indeed, Ruth has a story to tell—that of herself, a teenage girl under the influence of her bitter, jealous, and neglectful mother Mayleen (Oscar, Emmy, and Golden Globe winner Christine Lahti, Chicago Hope), her ineffectual father Elton, and her brother Mark, a cruel child prodigy who’s Mayleen’s pride and joy. Her mother has never let Ruth forget that she is not as smart, not as pretty, nor as talented as others; that she shouldn’t wish for better things and just accept her lot in life—working unrewarding jobs and weathering recurrent disappointments. All she has is the will to survive by her own resources.

Ruth is thankful for blessings like her faithful Aunt Sid (Teryl Rothery, Stargate SG-1). In their correspondence, they share the dreams that help Ruth maintain her self-esteem, her dignity, and her daring to avoid the dead-end path of her humble life. A brief escape finally comes with Ruby (Evan Jones, 8 Mile), the deranged man whom Ruth loves, marries, and bears a child. But when financial troubles force the couple back under her spiteful mother’s wing, a battle simmers between Mayleen and Ruby to control Ruth—one as daughter, the other as wife. What neither accepts is that she wants to be herself. When the family’s fragile balance eventually shatters, so does Ruth. Her next choice in life will be irreversible, shocking, and sudden, but one that will finally define her as a human being and offer a chance at redemption—regardless of the terrible price.

An Oprah Book Club Selection and recipient of the PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award, Jane Hamilton’s acclaimed novel is now a rewarding and ultimately uplifting film about life’s best-kept secrets, bittersweet hopes, and hard-won truths.