I’m not a huge baseball fan, but I am a fan of historical novels that provide a good sense of time and place – particularly if I am interested in the place.
Diamond Ruby provided both of those, and it made me enjoy the book more than I perhaps would have otherwise. The 1920s have always interested me because so much was going on at the time. The world was between wars, Prohibition was wreaking havoc nationwide, and then, of course, there was the suffragette movement -- women were fighting for the right to vote. (Doesn’t it seem absolutely astounding that women couldn’t vote yet in the 20s?)
New York City was sort of the poster child for all that was happening during this time, and Ruby, the main character of the novel, it seems, was impacted by most of the things that were happening. Her mother was a suffragette, her brother was involved in bootlegging, much of her family died from the Spanish influenza, brought back from World War I.
Question 1: In Diamond Ruby, we read about the opening of the Coney Island Boardwalk, Yankee Stadium, Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Prohibition, the influenza epidemic and women's rights, to name a few things. Was there something regarding the time frame or Brooklyn setting that most interested you?
I thought most of the characters in the novel were interesting, though sometimes seemed to be caricatures. And frequently I thought the dialogue was unrealistic. I would think, “That’s not what a real person would say; that’s what someone in a cartoon would say.”
Having said all of this, I thought that the story told by Joseph Wallace was extremely interesting and fun to read. I often had a difficult time putting the book down. I thought it was so much fun to meet some of the real-life characters, and see how they were laced in and out of the book’s story. It led me to look many of them up in Wikipedia to find out their real story.
Question 2: It seemed like all of the characters epitomized either good or evil – there weren’t really any in-between sorts of characters. Who was your favorite character, and why? Did you find the “bad guys” to be realistic?
My favorite character, besides Ruby, was her niece Amanda. She seemed so solemn, strong-willed, and loyal. Her instincts seemed true, and her undying love and devotion to Ruby touched my heart.
While the “bad guys” were a bit predictable, I still found them to be fairly compelling – perhaps that degree of evilness is just interesting. In the back of the book, the author notes that he sort of liked Chase, which I really couldn’t quite understand. While he did seem to have a soft side for Ruby, he still didn’t hesitate to do what he had to do, even if it hurt her. To me, David Wilcox was the most despicable character.
Question 3. The author is currently working on a follow-up novel to Diamond Ruby that takes place in 1926, three years after the time period of this novel. As you finished reading Diamond Ruby, what did you envision her life being like three years later?
I love to envision what happens to characters after the book ends. In my mind, Ruby doesn’t continue playing professional baseball, because I know that the baseball commissioner, in real life, eventually prohibited women from playing. But I think she plays baseball in some capacity, and is able to provide a living for her nieces through her skills. She gets married, maybe to that FBI guy, and they all continue to live in Helen’s house – one big happy family.
Lots more to say about this book but I’m going to let you all tell me what you think.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I enjoyed reading this book very much. As a matter of fact, I am rating it a 9. I only rate a book a 10 if I would read it again. I don't think I'll read this book again.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the historical time period and was quite unfamiliar with the 20's. This was the decade that my grandparents moved from Switzerland to the U.S. and also the decade when both of my parents were born. So it was fun to have this snapshot of life at that time. I always enjoy New York as a setting.
The influenza epidemic drew me in as my grandfather Gloor lost a sister to the illness during that period. Reading about how it took place in Ruby's family made me think about what it was like for my family.
I'm not sure why but I loved the Jack Dempsey that the author portrayed. I found myself googling both he and Babe Ruth, to see what they looked like and to learn more about them.
So besides Ruby, Jack would be my favorite character. I wasn't crazy about Chase, but he was the best of the worst characters!
And by the way, in reality, Babe Ruth lived quite an unhealthy lifestyle. I wonder how he would hold up in a pro game with today's players? He most certainly didn't take steriods!
I can't figure out how I would picture Ruby going forward after the end of the novel. I agree with Kris, I don't picture her playing baseball. Maybe I see her teaching or coaching in some capacity. I don't think Ruby will end up getting married. I would like her to do something that would continue the legacy she started for women's rights in baseball. I hope she never, ever had to eat another squirrel!
I really enjoyed this book, once I started reading it I had a hard time putting it down. Definitely a quick read for me.
ReplyDeleteI loved the era it took place in, the 1920's, with everything that was going on at that time and I learned things that I really was not aware of. I am not a big baseball fan but I thought the author did a very good job portraying Ruby and the other characters.
Besides Ruby I thoroughly enjoyed her nieces, they had such different personalities and the way they taught themselves to read etc.. was almost humorous to me.
I did not have a favorite villan at all, they were all users and to creepy to even like for my taste.
I picture Ruby doing something in the future with Women's Rights. I agree with Jenny maybe teaching or coaching in some capacity since she can't play baseball...(Darn Male Chauvenists)!!! Marriage, gosh I would like to see her with someone who would
show her the respect she deserves or maybe she should just get an education for now...Does Squirrel taste like chicken?? Ick..road kill!!!!
I really enjoyed Diamond Ruby. I love baseball and New York City, so this was pretty much a sure winner for me. I will admit to being a little disappointed when I found out how loosely this was based on a real person. I was hoping that Ruby’s story was a bit more real than it was.
ReplyDeleteI'd probably rate this book an 8. It was a really fun summer read.
The author did a good job of creating the feel of NYC at the time. It was a wild and wooly period! As is so often true in such eras, there were the haves and the have-nots. It seemed like the people involved in bootleg liquor lived very dramatic and even somewhat glamorous lives, while many of the ordinary people just struggled to live. No one was immune from the terrible influenza epidemics, but the poor had no resources to fall back on. Like others, I enjoyed the interweaving of real persons into the plot. Babe Ruth was a larger-than-life character in real life and even more so in the novel. I thought bringing in Jack Dempsey was pretty random, but also fun. I got the impression Wallace just had a good time writing this book!
I agree that the characters were a little one-dimensional. Ruby faced incredible hardships, and she was almost too good, too smart, too talented, too crafty to be true. But, I liked her so much that I didn’t care if she wasn’t altogether realistic. The bad guys were awful, and I’ll bet that’s exactly the way it was in that setting. Again, the almost melodramatic atmosphere would have created a climate for these very evil characters, whose only motivations were selfish.
I would like to see how Ruby, and especially her nieces, end up. But I also sort of hate to mess with this novel’s ending. Its sense of hope, without a sappy finality, was nice. It’s fun to imagine where all the characters would have gone.
Did anyone else wonder what role Helen and her mother played in the book? I thought her character was a bit randem. Maybe Wallace just thought Ruby needed to be able to relate to someone her own age.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wonder what everyone else thought about Nick. I just never could forgive him for the things he did to Ruby and his daughters, despite understanding how much he had lost in his life and how much difficulty his drinking caused in his life.
I'm glad you reminded me about Nick. I felt the same way. I knew I should feel bad for him, but I just couldn't. He left those girls--including Ruby--in such bad shape. His loss was a hard one, but many people lost loved ones from influenza. I couldn't drum up any sympathy.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this story. I've always liked the idea of the 1920s although I am not a historian by any means.
ReplyDeleteI was caught up in the storyline from the outset. The influenza epidemic reminded me of what we went through last flu season with the Swine Flu. Eighty and a few years after Diamond Ruby and the "pandemic" of 2009 was so much less deadly than the Spanish influenza as reported in the book. Triple ick when Mr. Cohen made the egg cream and coughed and contaminated it.
I liked Evie. She knew what was what, and she took care of her family. She survived the flu and was killed in the derailment? I wasn't happy about that. But, I imagine Ruby wouldn't have followed the path she did had Evie been there to take care of the family.
Nick was frustrating. He couldn't keep it together for his daughters?
I didn't mind the dialogue at all -- I didn't think it sounded cartoon-ish, but maybe the conversation around my house tends toward the cartoon set, so I didn't notice.
The bad guys were super-bad. I thought there was supposed to be a code among thieves? Wilcox invading Helen's house was beyond the pale. I'm glad he ran into Jack Dempsey's able fist. I was surprised at the appearance of the KKK and how they were "handled" by organized crime. I wonder if they would really have bothered Ruby.
I think in 1929, Ruby would be fine financially as she would have weathered the stock market crash since she kept all of her cash at home. The girls' candy wrapper collection would have grown to immense proportions. I don't think Ruby would have married yet -- I wish she would just have fun. The Museum of Modern Art opened in NYC in 1929, so maybe Ruby and the girls dipped some baseballs in paint, threw them at a canvas, and had an exhibit there!
No sympathy for Nick from me either. I did wonder though, if his alcoholism was written for a purpose. Was his addiction to alcohol a way to get us to ponder the pros and cons of Prohibition?
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention Evie until Margaret brought her up. I liked her character very much. That train derailment really happened during that time.
I think Helen's character was there as the saving grace for Ruby. Someone had to help Ruby stop the ongoing negative events in her life. Helen brought hope, relief and support.
I agree with Margaret about Ruby in the future. I sure hope by 1929 she's had some fun.
I am sorry I am posting at the 11th hour, but I was so crazy getting ready for Carter's birthday I ignored all else.
ReplyDeleteOk, so Diamond Ruby...i really liked the book but i have to say i did not have a passion for it. i thought it was a nice read and i definately wanted to follow ruby on her path, and was certainly glad she made the decisions she did. i feel like ruby was a stream of consciousness character. she did and said things that many people would only daydream of saying and doing. for example, when she slapped chase (was it chase?) i thought to myself "see if ruby was a tv character, that would have only happened in her mind"...i loved it nonetheless.
Question 1: i love NYC but have to admit I am not an expert of the time...wwi and the 1920s, however i have always thought that if i had to grow up during another time, it would be the 1920s. i find the babe ruth story to be fascinating and "evergreen". he was a legend for more reasons that one, and although some stories about him are not so kind, i love that this author chose to make him loving and giving. i too was interested in the enfluenza epidemic, as one post remarked earlier, because of our recent battles with SARs, the bird-flue, and now the swine flu. i find it fascinating to look into the reaction to such epidemics then as opposed to now...science and medicine are some of the greatest wonders of the world.
Question 2: i really liked ruby...i found her to be refreshingly strong, and like i said before, i love that she did things that people only think of. i kept picturing myself sitting in a theater, watching her story. at times i know i would be yelling out...hit him, beat him at his own mind game, etc. eventually i realized that i never had to worry, because ruby would not disappoint. while unrealistic, it was really fun to read. i also agree with jennie about Jack...there was something wonderful about him. although...totally random that he would have taken up for this broken family. sometimes the pieces of the puzzle were a wishful fit.
the evil...i liked what jennie had to say about chase...while he was devilish, he was smart, and was after one thing...money. the other villians were just too nasty.
Question 3: where would diamond ruby be in 3 years? well, since she was allowed to play baseball, i think she continues to play after a while. eventually she would create an all female league, in which her neices and helen play an instrumental role. maybe she becomes an announcer.
Overall, i give this book an 8. i am not rating this higher because there wasn't a lot of depth to the characters and some of the pieces were a bit ragged. as someone mentioned before, what was the purpose of helen and her mother coming into the picture, other than to give ruby and her nieces a safe place to live? maybe they were symbols of the good that existed at the time. as for nick...i think he was a symbol for those who fell "victim" to those who didn't survive the underground business that prohibition brought about.