Ruth & Pen: The brilliant debut novel from the internationally bestselling author of Notes to Self

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In a 1923 diary entry, Woolf wrote of her intentions for Mrs Dalloway: “I want to give life & death, sanity & insanity; I want to criticise the social system, & to show it at work, at its most intense.” Woolf’s novel is charged because of these conflicting elements, which are held in tension by means of two primary characters that exist as dark doubles for each other. There is not enough friction, not enough pressure between the protagonists of Ruth & Pen; its coordinative, paratactic style of “both/and” is the final limitation to its success.

ruth & pen takes place on a single day. we get ruth's perspective (a woman whose marriage is in trouble) and pen (a neurodivergent teenager navigating first love). it's really hard describing what this book is about without spoiling the whole plot. Galardonada con el Kate O’Brien Award Ruth y Pen es el debut novelístico de Emilie Pine, autora de Todo lo que no puedo decir. Una obra luminosa, inteligente y de una delicadeza conmovedora, que retrata los límites del dolor y del amor, de cómo navegamos por aguas conocidas y desconocidas y del valor que exige encontrar la fuerza para seguir adelante . «Una exploración desgarradora y cruda del valor necesario para encontrar tu lugar en el mundo». Pen ''likes how reading gives you time to think, that emotions don't change if they're written down'' whilst Pen's neurotyp

I identified much more with Pen, perhaps because I am also neurodivergent. She had much more personality, and I was invested in her plans, her feelings, her hopes. I enjoyed seeing myself and my feelings reflected in Pen in some of the situations she was in.

I loved every word of Notes To Self. I inhaled it in one go, reading till the middle of the night. I was excited when I heard Emilie Pine was writing her first novel and gave a little yelp of excitement when notification of this advance reader copy landed in my inbox. Once again, Emilie Pine's writing demanded my full attention , impossible to put down once you start. What did you want from another person, was it the same or bigger than what you wanted from yourself?'' (!) Ultimately, via both major characters but also via the Alice and Aidan, this is a book around the ideas of: consequential/milestone life decisions; of how to mentally and verbally explore complex and ambiguous feelings; and most of all of how to shape (particularly female) self-identity when one’s aspired identity is challenged both by circumstances and by the equally difficult identity choices of others.

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David Park «Emilie Pine escribe sobre las grandes y las pequeñas la amistad, el amor, la fertilidad, el dolor; levantarse, ducharse, coger el autobús. Ya lo hizo en su sorprendente colección de ensayos Todo lo que nopuedo decir , y lo vuelve a hacer en su igualmente sorprendente novela debut Ruth y Pen ». When they met face to face for the first time Beryl thought that there was no strangeness between them as they knew so much about each other,” her son explained. This is a beautifully written, intense and very sensitive character study with, for me, the standout character being 16 year old Pen. I just love the words inside her head where she is impressively articulate and her outstanding memory which does stun a few characters she meets on this day. Her portrayal is fantastic, you feel as if the author really gets to the core of her and I love her for who she is. A big shout out for her mother Claire whose loving presence and support is heartwarming. The impact of the IVF on both Ruth and Aidan is powerfully conveyed. It’s raw, emotional and extremely moving and their grief feels palpable. You applaud struggling Ruth for just putting one foot in front of the other. So overall, I had mixed feelings about this, it’s a fairly well-crafted piece but the pieces don’t always fit together as well as they might, not unusual in a first novel. However, it’s also quite gripping, there are some outstanding passages, some more-than-promising prose, as well as an admirable commitment to dealing with emotionally complex material. Cristín Leach, RTÉ «Pine se desmarca de los clichés que acompañan la representación de los personajes autistas en la literatura y el cine».

Despite each moving home numerous times and through getting engaged, married, expanding their families, losing their husbands, and retiring from work, one thing has remained constant for Ruth and Beryl – writing to each other.I have to say that this month has been the saddest pride month ever with exams taking up the main portion of June. But somehow I had the mind to start this queer book at the end of May, that not only focused on one of the protagonist's pursuit of a queer relationship but also touched on asexuality as well.