Odyssey In A Teacup
Ruth Roth #1
by Paula Houseman
A tut-tutting, big-breasted, modern-day gorgon; a humorless schoolmarm with an unfortunate name and freakishly long, yellow incisors (yeesh)—these are the kinds of people Ruth Roth regularly encounters. Add in daily dealings with an acerbic mother who squawks like a harpy, a father with a dodgy moral compass and a God complex, a bitchy mirror, and Ruth’s existence feels like a Greek tragicomedy.
The idiocy of daily life makes sense to Ruth when she develops a fascination with ancient mythology. She learns that the deviant gods and spectacular monsters of bygone myths are alive and well in the backwoods of our psyche; that there’s always one who escapes suppression and can have the whip hand in our lives. Ruth’s is one of the most unwelcome societal presences—the goddess of obscenity. And talk about ugly!
Ruth can relate to this immortal. Not in looks; Ruth is quite comely. But she feels unwelcome in her own family (she gatecrashed her mother’s womb only two months after her brother vacated it). Despite being labeled the ‘black sheep’, or maybe because of it, Ruth takes on her nemeses, bravely and brazenly (her dirty goddess doesn’t give a rat’s about social niceties). But our heroine is war-weary. And the yearning to fit in somewhere—anywhere—eventually undoes her. We must look on helplessly as Ruth loses her soul.
She wants it back, though!
Just as well the mad characters in her mind and experiences won’t quit. Just as well Ruth never loses her wry wit. And where her nearest and dearest attempt to keep her shrunken into a wholesome package of conformity, Ruth’s two closest girlfriends simply won’t allow it. And then there’s Ralph Brill.
Ruth’s hot-looking, eccentric cousin and best friend, Ralph is her staunchest ally. Also a misfit in his family, he has his share of problems including a st-t-t-tuttering brutish father, and an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder—Ralph needs to do everything twice, twice.
Ruth relies on his repeated encouragement and the support of her girlfriends as she embarks on an odyssey. A good homeopathic dose of ancient mythology helps her find her way back through the sludgy shame and irrational fears choking her spirit. Then just when all seems well, Ruth faces an apocalypse …
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
Ralph staunchly and compassionately defended his
brothers: ‘They’re only aggressive because they’ve got such über-small
penises.’
I was learning about ancient Greece in history class.
Greek mythology was a very large component of this because my teacher had a
passion for it. His name was Zero Kosta ... poor bastard… this man must have truly
felt like he was worth nothing from the get-go. Suddenly, my name didn’t seem
so bad. I think Mr Kosta had first- hand knowledge of ancient times because he
looked like he was raised from the crypt. He was cadaverous.
In our family, Joe had a special aptitude for farting.
And he was renowned for it in the Jewish community. There were whispers: Psst,
did you hear what Joe Roth did during the visiting dignitary’s speech? What
chutzpah! Still, never heard anything like it before! and, That’s Ruth Roth. Her
father’s the one who farts in public. This earned him the nickname ‘Joe Blow’
(clever, but also dumb because he was anything but your average Joe).
If the eyes are the window to the soul ... what if
someone’s cross-eyed? Is that like looking through a bay window?
When I was seven, Joe backed up against my freshly ironed
school shirt, which was hanging on the linen closet door. He deposited a fart
in the shirt pocket. ‘For safekeeping,’ he’d said. The teachers didn’t think it
was too funny that day when I told them I had a fart in my pocket.
My Review:
Paula Houseman is found treasure. My face kept a near-constant smirk and my reading of this vibrant
and cleverly amusing story was frequently and forcefully interrupted, as I was
laughing so hard I could not see. I
adored it start to finish and had 5 pages of favorite quotes. The book was packed with a full cast of
peculiarly eccentric, neurotic, and quirky characters who had starring roles in
Ruth’s memories of her most calamitous and psyche-scarring life events. The storylines and writing were highly
entertaining and I was hard pressed to put my Kindle down. Her father’s legendary flatulence issues
alone caused several bouts of giggle-snorting.
Ms. Houseman is my new favorite author and I will fangirl her hard. I am thrilled to have two more of her
masterworks on my Kindle, but I cannot imagine how she could possibly top the
humorous storytelling of this one. And
I have doubled my newly established Aussie Vocab List with the new entries of
furphies – which are erroneous stories; fossick – to rummage or search; stoush
– a commotion or dust-up; and Strine - the English language as spoken by
Australians as well as their accent.
Empress DJ
Author Bio
Paula Houseman was once a graphic designer. But when the temptation to include ‘the finger’ as part of a logo for a forward-moving women’s company proved too much, she knew it was time to give away design. Instead, she took up writing.
She found she was a natural with the double entendres (God knows she’d been in enough trouble as a child for dirty wordplay).
As a published writer of earthy chick lit and romantic comedy, Paula gets to bend, twist, stretch and juice up universal experiences to shape reality the way she wants it, even if it is only in books. But at the same time, she can make it more real, so that her readers feel part of the sisterhood. Or brotherhood (realness has nothing to do with gender).
Through her books, Paula also wants to help the reader escape into life and love’s comic relief. And who doesn’t need to sometimes?
Her style is a tad Monty Pythonesque because she adores satire. It helps defuse all those gaffes and thoughts that no one is too proud of.
Paula lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband. No other creatures. The kids have flown the nest and the dogs are long gone.
Social Media Links –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulahouseman
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/PaulaHouseman
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