Paint Me A Story

As far as I'm concerned there are only two ways of telling stories. It doesn't matter if the story is a piece of fiction, nonfiction, or commentary. A writer can either tell you a story or show you a story. Both ways can be effective. Both ways can tell equally compelling stories. However if an author chooses the wrong method of telling his or her story the piece will be nothing more than a flop.

I should have picked up by the title Ruby, a word that is also a color, that this story would be told in a very beautifully detailed and descriptive manner. 

I personally may be very far removed from the black experience in the south, in new york, and in the 1950's (all settings for the story), but when I read Ruby I was taken to a place where I felt a part of the story. I was an active viewer of Ephram and Ruby and their lives together and apart.

Throughout the story Bond relies on these descriptions through color "Lipstick red and think, her cornflower blue sundress," "holding each golden yolk in her pal as the white slid through her open fingers." These deep, meaningful descriptions take the reader inside the story to see the beautiful girl named Ruby, to smell the Catfish and the fresh out of the oven angel food cake. 

The story of Ruby is the kind of story that is shown. You learn about the plot and the characters through what Bond wants you to see while reading, not what she wants to tell you about the story. 

This type of story is the making of a true literary classic. This is the type of story that will be read for generations.

After finishing this book I had to do some research on the author and I was super excited to find out that this book is the first in a trilogy! I am excited to see how Cynthia Bond grows as a writer and to continue to follow Ruby's story in the future.

I was given this book curtsey of Blogging For Books. Thanks again guys for keeping my mind happy with another great read.

Has anyone else read the book Ruby? Let me know with your love and thoughts in the comment section below!