Critical Praise

" A sly and wistful, if harrowing, human comedy. Hamilton is a new and original voice in fiction and one well worth listening to. "--Boston Sunday Globe"Ms. Hamilton gives Ruth a humble dignity and allows her hope--but it's not a heavenly hope. It's a common one, caked with mud and held with gritted teeth. And it's probably the only kind that's worth reading about. "--New York Times Book Review" An extraordinary story of a family's disintegration... Will be compared to Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres. Astonishingly vivid and moving. "--People"An enthralling tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying ways our lives "--Entertainment Weekly"Unforgettably, beat by beat, Hamilton maps the best and worst of the human heart and all the mysterious, uncharted country in between. "--Kirkus Reviews"Hamilton's story builds to a shocking crescendo. Her small-town characters are a appealingly offbeat and brushed with grace as any found in Alice Hoffman's or Anne Tyler's novels. "--Glamour"An American beauty this book... The narrator of Jane Hamilton's sensational first novel is a holy lusty innocent. "--Vogue

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