“Ruth Redeemed!” by Robert Sikkenga. ISBN 978-1-60264-877-7 (softcover). 132 pages. $12.95
The story begins when Naomi and her family leave their drought-stricken home in Israel and take refuge on an agricultural estate in Moab. There they meet Ruth, a young shepherdess who is bright, talented, and ambitious. The rest of the story unfolds in a pattern consistent with the Biblical narrative, but the author fashions scenes within the narrative that bring Ruth and all of the other characters to life, complete with their insecurities, their obsessions and their ambitions. All are depicted as normal people with both virtues and blemishes. There has never been a Ruth like this, nor a Naomi, a Mahlon, a Rahab, nor a Boaz. But in the end the author restores Ruth to her place of honor and presents us with a lady worthy of being the mother of kings.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author, Robert Sikkenga, has a Master of Arts degree from Michigan State University and has published fiction, prose and poetry. His most recent works include “Moon Over Ajalon,” a book of Biblical meditations, and “Amity Street,” a novel in which passion and compassion collide on the streets of his hometown in the 1950’s. A former teacher, Sikkenga now enjoys a working retirement in Middlebury, Indiana with his wife Mary Ann. Together they have walked the verdant hills of Moab where Ruth lived, and the barley fields surrounding Naomi’s home, Bethlehem, where Ruth gleans, meets the love of her life, Boaz, and in her old age dotes upon her great-grandson, the future king of Israel.
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