A different kind of harvest: Contemporary women novelists respond to Ruth

This chapter will explore selected literary retellings of the biblical heroine Ruth in 21st century women’s fiction. I will offer a close textual analysis of Eva Etzioni-Halevy’s The Garden of Ruth [2006 (Hebrew/English)], Marlene van Niekerk’s Agaat [2006 (Afrikaans], and Tessa Afshar’s In the Field of Grace [2016 (English). Each author offers an alternative perspective on Ruth that is rooted in their respective socio-cultural locations. Etzioni-Halevy writes from the perspective of a Jewish woman living in the Middle East; van Niekerk offers a post-colonial rendering of the story, while Afshar re-views Ruth’s story through a Christian lens. Together, how the novels interface with the biblical story demonstrates the ‘writerly’ nature of the text – and the plethora of meanings it invites allows this ancient text to resonate in significant ways with contemporary readers – particularly women. The chapter will reveal how Etzioni-Halevy, van Niekerk, and Afshar re-make the story of Ruth so that it is relevant to contemporary readers in terms of gender, racial and sexual differences, as well as faith.