Ruth

A woman who’s seen it all—and stands on the edge of what’s still to come.

Ruth goes to the opera with friends, takes art classes over Zoom, chats with her children, watches her granddaughters grow. She monologues about what she likes and dislikes, laying bare the wisdom earned through experience. She’s Jewish, widowed, and—for the first time—has time on her hands. With wit and curiosity, she begins to explore the contours of a desire unburdened by obligation.

With lucid, engaging prose and touches of sharp humor and bittersweet insight, Adriana Riva gives voice to the inner life of an octogenarian who’s done obeying—and ready to speak her mind. Eccentric, perceptive, and endlessly intelligent, Ruth is a woman who’s been through it all, standing at the threshold of what’s still missing.

Ruth is a beautiful, exquisitely crafted novel—full of light and vitality, and impossible to forget. —Federico Falco