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Ruby Red: A Novel
William Price Fox's wonderfully satirical "Nashville" novel was a huge bestseller when first published in 1971. iPublish is proud to make this classic novel by the dean of Southern writers available to new generations of readers. The story of Ruby Jean Jamison's bold determination to make it in Nashville as a country music singer, Ruby Red will charm and delight all who "discover" it for the first time.
375 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 29, 2021
Mosey. Saunter. Meander. This book starts out at a leisurely pace and never speeds up.
I was first introduced to William Price Fox in his weekly columns in the Free Times newspaper in Columbia, SC. The columns were usually reminiscing, sunny side up, with a heaping side order of wit slathered with charm. This book, however, was not.
It’s not like it’s a bad book, but it felt like he wasn’t sure what the story was going to be about until he finished it. There were a lot of story threads that ended up going nowhere and didn’t add much to the rest of the tapestry he was weaving. Plus, the ending felt rushed. I don’t know if he was coming up on a deadline, but I’d be willing to put money on it.
This is one of those books I can say I’m glad I read it, but it’s highly unlikely it will ever leave its home shelf again.
I was first introduced to William Price Fox in his weekly columns in the Free Times newspaper in Columbia, SC. The columns were usually reminiscing, sunny side up, with a heaping side order of wit slathered with charm. This book, however, was not.
It’s not like it’s a bad book, but it felt like he wasn’t sure what the story was going to be about until he finished it. There were a lot of story threads that ended up going nowhere and didn’t add much to the rest of the tapestry he was weaving. Plus, the ending felt rushed. I don’t know if he was coming up on a deadline, but I’d be willing to put money on it.
This is one of those books I can say I’m glad I read it, but it’s highly unlikely it will ever leave its home shelf again.
April 1, 2014
Having just moved to Nashville, I was looking for some light reading on the area. When I ordered Ruby Red, I thought I was ordering an out-of-print novel of the kind you find on the shelves at your grandparents' cottage: diverting but dated. (I mean, this book is about Nashville, yet the Nashville library doesn't have a copy?) I turns out that Fox is better known than that, and his books have received praise from the likes of Vonnegut and Updike (and P. G. Wodehouse! what?).
In the end, it did surpass my expectations, but just barely. The writing is light and easy, and the story trips easily along. Most of the book felt like those summer novels from the cottage. The end, though, elevated it. Fox didn't stoop to wrapping all the ends up neatly in a moral package, or insist on a tragic ending. He deftly settled the arc of the story while opening Ruby's life up to the future, and he did so in a way that made me laugh at the almost anti-moral. I understand why it's out of print, but it may just be worth reading if you want a simple, enjoyable read about the South that won't let you down at the end.
Spoiler--don't read unless you've finished the book: I love the fact that Ruby makes it not because of her talent, which is middling, but because of her sheer determination. In a way, that's an anti-moral, but in another sense it's actually a very real lesson.
In the end, it did surpass my expectations, but just barely. The writing is light and easy, and the story trips easily along. Most of the book felt like those summer novels from the cottage. The end, though, elevated it. Fox didn't stoop to wrapping all the ends up neatly in a moral package, or insist on a tragic ending. He deftly settled the arc of the story while opening Ruby's life up to the future, and he did so in a way that made me laugh at the almost anti-moral. I understand why it's out of print, but it may just be worth reading if you want a simple, enjoyable read about the South that won't let you down at the end.
Spoiler--don't read unless you've finished the book: I love the fact that Ruby makes it not because of her talent, which is middling, but because of her sheer determination. In a way, that's an anti-moral, but in another sense it's actually a very real lesson.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews