My rating: 3.75/5
Ruins by Lily Brooks-Dalton is an intriguing story with a keen character driven plot that takes the reader on an intricate journey. Strap on your seat belt, as this story mimics a roller coaster ride, with highs, dips, and dives into the psyche of an intensely ambitious archeologist whose aspirations dares to question life’s purpose in pursuit of one’s ambitions. Should it exceed one’s morale, integrity, or all others?
Ember Agni is a talented archeologist who finds herself at a difficult point in her life. She hates the monotony of her job as a college professor, she loathes her husband, and she has a burning passion to escape to an exhibition to discover a lost empire that she believes existed. Many years have passed since she had to relinquish a previous opportunity to go on an expedition. Since then, she has lived in a dismaying repeated cycle of relenting. This cycle of forcing herself to endure her unfulfilling life changes when she unexpectedly receives a message from a previous student on an expedition, who informs her of a discovered artifact. The message erupts a ferocious force of desperate determination within her that fuels the days ahead and eventually lands her with an opportunity to lead a once-in-a-lifetime expedition. Ember takes this quest with the trust of her colleagues on this dangerous journey, but with harmful secrets, vile selfish ambitions, and evidence of a career damaging decision. This exploration will ultimately force her to choose her truth regarding her life.
Author Lily Brooks-Dalton masterfully created an intriguing novel with an emotionally complex main character. With intricate elements of her personality, Ember Agni was a difficult character to like. She had a propensity to lack empathy and difficulty reciprocating regard for others. She was also narcissistic, vindictive, and often disgruntled. However, her ambition and perseverance were admirable. I found myself cheering for her at times. Despite the complexity of the main character, there was descriptive imagery that created an immersive reading experience, intriguing character development, and a bit of mystery that kept me invested throughout the entire novel. As a Christian, the only aspect of the novel that I did not enjoy was the references to a same-sex relationship. However, it was not the overall message of the story and did not thwart the plot. Overall, I enjoyed this story. Fans of literary fiction with complex themes may enjoy it as well.
With gratitude, I received a digital advanced reader copy of this novel from Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley. The opinions in this review are unbiased and my own.
#Fiction #Literature
