Ruth: A Love Story
by Ellen Gunderson Traylor
Ruth: A Love Story is the tale of a foreign woman living in the land of Israel before it was a kingdom. During the days when the judges watched over God's chosen people, Ruth learns of Israel's anxious wait for the Messiah – a wait that is set to last for centuries more, and which Ruth herself will play a part she would never imagined for herself when she was still in Moab.
Ruth struggles as she comes to faith in the God of Israel. Raised in Moab, she had gods of her own, and meeting and learning to understand the God of Israel proves to be an invigorating process for her. Ultimately, it leads her to find a new life with Boaz, and gives her an exalted place in Israel's history.
Traylor's retelling of the biblical story of Ruth follows a pleasing structure, divided into four sections: Famine, Seedtime, Growth, and Harvest. The cycle of life is a perfect metaphor for Ruth's own fortunes – death as a natural result of life, but also an event that sets the stage for new life to appear. As with all of Traylor's novels, Ruth: A Love Story is well written, and the characterization is excellent. There is no one better at bringing Bible characters to life through fictionalization.
Reviewed by Shelly Bryant © 2015