RaveThe Toronto Star (CAN)... a work of incredible depth and breadth ... The novel unfolds in a non-linear narrative that Bird-Wilson masterfully weaves together with elegiac prose. It is populated with revelatory passages that are at once beautiful and raw, and demand for you to sit with them a little while ... poetic gut punches and reveal a profound gravity of loss ... The kaleidoscopic approach to unravelling Ruby’s life, jumping back and forth from the past to the present through vignettes that showcase several multi-faceted characters, provides the reader context that Ruby doesn’t have and an emotional resonance that floods this story with heart, whether that heart has been broken or is struggling to mend ... a difficult novel that challenges readers to make connections between the world that Bird-Wilson has created in the book and the country that we live in today, allowing us to see the world through the eyes of another: their struggles and their resiliencies. Her writing is never didactic, always engrossing, and the protagonist is a complex, unforgettable character who will stay with you long after the last page has been turned. Probably Ruby is a timely and important novel every Canadian should read.
