Books like The Book of Ruth

I am really surprised by all of the negative reviews of this book. I think it is so strange that the characters are discounted as "white trash", their story thus, uninteresting or too dreary. While the story is by no means a happy one it is highly engrossing and worth telling. Hamilton's narrator Ruth is by turns despairing and joyful of life and Hamilton's writing manages to be lyrical and poetic, blunt and simple at the same time. I personally like to connect with other people, to imagine what it would be like to live in their skin, to know what forces shaped them into being who they are. This includes "white trash". The story is very realistic and you come away feeling like you have read truths, if not about fictional characters then real people somewhere out there who are experiencing very similar lives. If you are the type of person who is only happy reading stories that end happily-ever-after then steer clear of this book. But if you are like me and can also find beauty and meaning in even the most tragic tales then I highly recommend it.