Ruby and the Stone Age Diet [Paperback]

Martin Millar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2009

"From now on," Ruby says to her friend, the narrator, "We’re going on the Stone Age diet. It means we only eat the sort of healthy things our ancestors would have eaten. Raw grains and fruits and stuff like that. That’s what our bodies are made for." An admirable plan, but Ruby never eats, and the narrator’s attention span doesn’t lend itself to routine. He’s too busy pining for his ex-girlfriend Cis, who broke up with him and left him with self-pity and a plant: an Aphrodite Cactus that, when it flowers, is supposed to seal the love of the giver to the receiver, according to Ruby. Ruby, who never wears any shoes (even in the dead of winter). Though lovelorn and lonely, the narrator’s life is rich with myth, demons, werewolves, gods and goddesses; everything is imbued with a spirit. There’s Helena, goddess of electric guitar players; Ascanazl, an ancient and powerful Inca spirit who looks after lonely people; Shumash the sun god; the war and sexuality goddess Astarte; the muse Clio. In fact the only thing stronger and more sustaining than the narrator’s fantasy life is his friendship with Ruby—the kind of friendship a body is made for.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this charming but aimless tale, the everyday harshness of drugs, heartbreak, and poverty in London's gritty south side mingles casually with a series of hallucinatory vignettes that may or may not be the result of unknowingly-ingested LSD. Appearances from gods and goddesses, space aliens, and hostage-taking Post Office robbers spin out alongside the unnamed narrator's humdrum day-to-day: lovesickness, finding a place to crash, and plans for self-improvement devised by his roommate and best friend, Ruby. Unfortunately, none of the goings-on have much effect on the protagonist, who takes personal obstacles and sci-fi plot developments equally for granted. What shines through are the personalities of and relationships among the main characters, whose friendships bloom amidst the disorienting blight of the real and unreal world, spiking Millar's gritty period fantasy with unexpected shots of sweetness. Though winning, the relationship between our bumbling narrator and the assertive but fragile Ruby serves a static plot that follows one unexplained upheaval after another. END

From Booklist

Best friends and south London squat mates, Ruby and the unnamed narrator are brokenhearted and hungry. Their respective lovers have just left them, and barefoot Ruby insists they begin the Stone Age diet, a regimen of raw fruits and nuts that “bodies are made for.” The narrator’s ex, Cis, delivers what Ruby identifies as an Aphrodite Cactus, a plant that supposedly seals the fate of two lovers once it flowers. Only for some reason it won’t blossom. To make matters worse, the narrator can’t find a drummer for his band, the one he is confident will help win back his girlfriend. Meanwhile, he steeps himself in myth, until he can no longer recognize reality, dwelling instead in an inner world of aliens, robots, werewolves, and gods, including Helena, goddess of electric guitar players. Fans will recognize Millar’s trademarks: piercing satire, humorous surprises, and absurd characters. What the novel lacks in plot, it makes up for with wild imagination; a charming, ADD-infused voice; and its portrayal of two friends who, if nothing else, at least have each other. --Jonathan Fullmer

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press; Original edition (December 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593762321
• ISBN-13: 978-1593762322
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,287,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More Precious than Gems, April 12, 2010

By 

Melissa Slachetka (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ruby and the Stone Age Diet (Paperback)

Ruby and the Stone Age Diet is a classic Martin Millar novel with a jumble of sub-plots, twists and turns, and an unnamed narrator. Millar, once again, explores the world of Britain's underclass filled with dreamers, tweakers, and lovable misfits. Threads of storyline intermingle to create a literary fog that is great to get lost in.

The overall plotline deals with the narrator's relationship with Ruby, his roommate and best friend. Both are confused about life, living as squatters, and can't decide whether to move on or stay with a love interest. Ruby is a hippie at heart. She goes around barefoot in a lilac dress, is on a Paleolithic diet, spends her time writing or painting, and talks about mythology constantly. Ruby's goal is survival, and in an off-beat way, she takes care of the narrator.

The narrator is just plain lost. Fresh off a break-up with Cis, he drifts from job to job, watches for a cactus to bloom, and has an odd relationship to outer-space robots. Whether the robots are an acid trip or just his dreams, it seems to be a good way to cope with poverty and heartbreak. Ruby's friendship saves him and, at the same time, keeps him from moving on. When she finally decides to take a chance on a real relationship with her on-again, off-again lover, it's just the right time for the narrator to finally figure out his life.

Millar is a poet and a realist. Ruby and the Stone Age Diet shows us a world as unsustainable as a diet where you never eat. The poet in Millar makes this bleak and hopeless world pop like Technicolor. What would seem to depress, instead uplifts and humors. Gods and Goddess of every known make fill this story, from "Helena, benevolent Goddess of Electric Guitarists" and "Daita, the Vietnamese Tree Goddess" to Alexander, who is "the God of Foolish People Who Walk Around Naked in the Hallway Thinking Their Lover is Shouting Through the Letterbox". But they just can't compare to delightfully mundane scenes like buying a can-opener, because sometimes the simplest things, like best friends and cheap gadgets, make us the happiest. Millar proves, once again, that he hasn't lost his touch.