Most of us are familiar with the story of Ruth as found in the Bible in the book of the same name. Ruth was a young woman who found herself a widow after only ten years of marriage. Upon the death of her husband, she was free to return to her home, but her love for her mother-in-law Naomi was so great that she chose to travel to a strange land and be by Naomi’s side as a companion and protector. She eventually married Boaz, the owner of a nearby field who allowed her to gather up the leftovers after the harvesters had cut the grain, and through her bloodlines, Jesus Christ was born. That is the story in a nutshell.
This is the story told by LeeAnn Setzer in “Gathered: A Novel of Ruth,” but the book goes so much deeper than just the Biblical account. I found it fascinating to read about the traditions of the peoples involved. I knew that there was some religious difference between Ruth and her husband’s family, but I learned about the cultural differences as well, and the sacrifices that Ruth made in the very fiber of who she was to make herself more acceptable to her new family. I enjoyed reading about the traditions of the people, how they prepared for a wedding, the rites and rituals involved, the journey to the new land, how food was prepared, how cloth was made – the author must have done an immense amount of research to bring this story to life, and as I look in the back of the book for references, I do find several pages of author’s notes detailing the search for information and how it was found, far more than one normally expects to find in a fiction novel. As a historical fiction author myself, I know the kind of dedication that it takes to winnow out these fine details, and I was impressed.
I had always pictured Boaz as a tall, handsome, rugged man with bulging muscles (isn’t that how we all picture our heros?) but Setzer presents him in a much more realistic way, as a man whose beauty was in his character and in the way he treated those around him. This made him more attractive than physical appearance ever could.
With stirring descriptions of the land, details about the harvesting of grain, and insights into the hearts and minds of the characters, I found this novel to be not only entertaining but uplifting and educational as well. My hat is off to the author for her research and the ways she incorporated that research into the story.
(This book was published in 2003 by Cedar Fort.)
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