Ruth & Pen
Emilie Pine

A beautiful, moving novel set over the course of one day in Dublin City. Great characters, interesting story. An excellent debut novel from a talented writer,

Many thanks to NetGalley & to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Beautifully poignant and powerfully emotional story of Ruth, a counsellor whose marriage is struggling to survive their battle with infertility, and 16 year old Pen, autistic and trying to find the words to tell her best friend her true feelings.

Events unfold over a single day in Dublin as their paths cross when Pen attends a climate protest, while Ruth has a gynaecology appointment and reflects on the harrowing experience so far and whether her marriage will survive.

An engrossing story told from the perspectives of Ruth, Aiden, Pen and Alice, adding great depth, nuance and colour.

Continuing the adventures of books, it took me years to read because I kept picking them up and putting them down, we have Emilie Pine's debut novel Ruth & Pen. When I first started reading, I couldn't connect with the characters, so I set it aside. I enjoyed Pine's writing style, though, so I knew I'd give it another try at some point. I listened to it on audio in March, and I am glad I gave it a second chance because I connected with it much more this time around!

Set over the course of one day, we follow Ruth – a forty-something counsellor whose husband Aidan hasn't come home from a work trip. And Pen – an autistic teenager on her way to a climate protest who has decided to tell her friend Alice the thing she has been keeping secret. The day in question is October 7th, 2019, when Extinction Rebellion Ireland held its climate walk and protest as part of Extinction Rebellion's week of global protests.

Pen's attempts to fit in at school haven't gone to plan. Things at home aren't exactly less anxiety inducing, as she struggles to connect with her mother and younger sister.

Ruth's marriage is at a crossroads. After multiple rounds of IVF, Ruth has realised that she doesn't want to continue. However, Aidan doesn't want to stop. I don't want to give much more away than the novel’s blurb, but if reading about infertility is something you wish to take care with I would recommend looking up the content warnings beforehand.

Ruth & Pen is a decidedly Dublin novel. The city's landscape is as much a character as Ruth, Pen, Alice, and Aidan are. I really enjoyed the switching points of view. We hear not only from our titular protagonists but also from Alice and Aidan, which adds a richness to the story.

Ruth & Pen is a beautifully tender and poignant novel, which deals with complex topics in a nuanced and compassionate way.

A short, sharp book that was incredibly poignant. Both characters were truly loveable and the way their stories intersected was fascinated. Definitely very carefully written and constructed.

Set over one day in Dublin, Ruth & Pen is a thoughtful and sensitive exploration of loss and love as told through the lives of two women. The insight Pine brought to her essay collection shines here, and sharp characterisation and a sure narrative make for a memorable debut

I was maybe expecting to love this a bit more after having read and loved Emilie Pine's essays but there is still a lot of great writing and I loved the Dublin setting and the interplay between the characters. It's subtle and warm but I found some of the leaning it does on Mrs Dalloway and Dubliners a bit stretched.

I adore Notes To Self by Emilie Pine so I was delighted to get an ARC of this. However, I’ve tried reading it & eventually had to accept this is not the book for me. Books that deal heavily with miscarriage & infertility always have the potential to trigger me, and it’s my fault for not researching this one enough. I still adore Emilie Pine…I might have to give this one a miss.

Really enjoyed this book, clearly inspired by Mrs Dalloway and Dubliners, as we follow the two main characters on one day, when there is a major climate protest in Dublin. The descriptions of Dublin as but Ruth and Pen walk the city streets at various points, made me want to visit again. Ruth is a counsellor, anxious about her marriage which is cracking under the strain of IVF, her sessions with clients are authentic, as are her internal thoughts about her clients. Pen is autistic, excited about seeing her friend Alice for whom she has arranged a date. The insight into how her brain works, especially her lack of words, again feels very authentic and an engaging way, to understand and have empathy for how she experiences the world. I loved Pen's mum, Claire, a grounded lecturer who understands her daughter and does her best to parent her and protect her from the harshness of people's prejudice. Her father Sandy has less patience and understanding, Ruth's husband Adrian is also a complicated. A wonderful book, dealing with complex emotions, fabulously written.

With thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked Notes to Self by this author but this didn’t hit the mark for me. I enjoyed the writing but it felt quite disjointed to me, the two stories were very different and I thought there would be more overlap than there was. I much prefer the non-fiction writing from this author.

I could not get into this book, ultimately it was not form me and I could not finish it. It may be one for other readers

This is a beautiful debut by a clearly talented writer. It tells a story about two women with no connection at the start. It covers all areas of life; the highs, lies, disappointments. I’d recommend this as a great book to make you think and laugh and I admit I did cry. Very poignant.

Emilie Pine is one my very favourite writers, so I was so excited for her first novel to be released. I loved elements of this: spotting parts of Dublin I know and have wandered around, the teenage earnestness and hope of Pen; the deep depths of grief through Ruth. Ultimately, though, I felt like their two stories weren’t interconnected enough, physically or thematically, for the novel to really make sense.

This was a short, underwhelming book that never really got going. I appreciated the sensitive depiction of anxiety, especially among children.

I highly recommend this very emotional tale of Em & Pen. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review

This dual POV novel focuses on the titular Ruth, a woman in her thirties, and Pen, a sixteen year old neurodivergent girl.

Ruth's husband Aidan hasn't come home - their marriage is crumbling as they both struggle to deal with the pain and loss of infertility and failed IVF cycles. One wants to continue and one wants to quit - can there ever be any compromise?

Pen has decided that today is the day she's going to come clean with her best friend Alice about something. The two attend a March for Climate Change in Dublin and it is here that Pen will reveal her secret - but will Alice be responsive?

Although I haven't read Ulysses (unlike many of my bookish friends, fair play gals, I could never), Ruth's walk around Dublin city was very Joycean to me. The city becomes a character - the sounds, the streets, the smells, the people. I loved that part of the novel.

Ruth's chapters broke my heart - the pain from both her and Aidan is I'm sure something many will relate to, and I found it really emotional to read. Pen's chapters, less so. Her chapters made me quite anxious, and I think it's a testament to the author's writing skill that my mood could change immediately depending on which character I was reading about. Still, I appreciated Pen's story and the bravery it takes to do what she did.

You never truly know what someone else is going through - and this book hammers that point home. You could take any two people whose paths cross momentarily and draw comparisons between their lives - this author does that beautifully.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC via Netgalley.

Moves gently between between the lives and perspectives of two women of different ages and on life and relationships.
I struggled to get into this book but it is well written and should appeal to readers who like introspection and a philosophical approach to life.
With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for the arc

Thank you for providing me with an arc. I found the novel to be overall quite thoughtful and thought-provoking! I wasn’t sure this would be as good as it was and it exceeded my expectations. I am definitely looking forward to what this author is going to put our next! Thank you for providing me with an arc. I found the novel to be overall quite thoughtful and thought-provoking! I wasn’t sure this would be as good as it was and it exceeded my expectations. I am definitely looking forward to what this author is going to put our next!

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it. No way around it. I could not feel attached to any of the characters. I didn't really care what happened to them. I finished the book only because I thought it would get better by the end... well actually, it improved a little bit. The writing was very confused, it kept jumping from one thing to the other, it seemed very erratic - and maybe that's how the author intended it, but unfortunately it was not to my taste.
Said so, the themes of the book were interesting and very heavy ones, sadly the style of writing didn't make me appreciate them.

Ruth & Pen is the debut novel from Notes to Self author Emilie Pine which follows two characters: Ruth and Pen (unknown to each other) as they negotiate their lives in Dublin.

A tender and poignant look at some hard-hitting topics including miscarriage, infertility sexuality and neurodiversity, the book is beautifully written and gives two striking and clear voices to each of it's characters.

I can see why this one is getting so much praise and attention but while I did enjoy it, I wasn't as enamored as many others.

This is a sharply observed character study centred around teenager Pen and counsellor Ruth, who briefly cross paths one day in Dublin. Pen has autism and is braving the frightening sights and sounds of the city centre to attend an environmental rally with her best friend and love interest Alice. Ruth's marriage to Aidan has suffered under the strain of their attempts to conceive a child. I grew to really care for both Ruth and Pen and was fully invested in the tiny nuances of their day. The supporting characters - Aidan, Alice and Pen's mother Claire - were also well-drawn and relatable. This is a quiet and moving book and well worth the investment of your time.