Hattie Bohannon is a woman in search of herself—and of the remains of her late husband, which the Army just cannot seem to locate. In her sharply observed and colorfully peopled debut novel, set largely in the truck stop the new widow has opened in an effort to support herself and her four girls, Lynn Pruett interweaves the tale of the tangled love lives of the Bohannon women with the classically Southern motifs of family secrets, personal eccentricities, fire-and-brimstone religion, and small-town sensibilities.

Watch the program [requires RealPlayer®].

Card catalog entry from the Library of Congress

Blurbs from the book cover

Amazon.com information page

Barnes and Noble information page

Reading group guide with discussion questions

Though Lynn Pruett grew up in Delaware, her Kentucky roots are both deep and far-reaching. Her parents, both University of Kentucky alumni, are descended from early settlers in Whitley, Boone, Kenton, and Calloway counties. As a child, Lynn spent summers on a tobacco farm owned by her uncle in Calloway County; Ruby River is dedicated to his wife, Frances Ross. Lynn now lives in Lexington and is the writer-in-residence at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

Lynn Pruett’s web site includes an excerpt and reviews of Ruby River.

Video interview with bookclub host Bill Goodman, July 24, 2003 [requires RealPlayer®].