A review by danapr
The Ruins by Phoebe Wynne

2.0

Several wealthy British families come together for the summer at the French Riviera in 1985. Some of the adults are longtime friends from college and they have many secrets and much animosity among them which comes out in very nasty ways. The trouble begins with a mysterious car accident which causes grievances with the locals as well as between the friends staying at the château. These tourists only become more and more annoying and hated as they abuse alcohol and generally act like spoiled snobs. But the more sinister abuse occurs towards the four adolescent daughters who are at the mercy of their horrible parents. For instance, when one of the girls has a birthday, her mother comments “It’s so tiresome to have to bother with a birthday during the holidays rather than the school dealing with it”. Nothing about this story can end well and the vacation does indeed come to a violent conclusion. Interspersed with the story occurring in 1985 is a side story around one of the young girls returning to the château as an adult in 2010, which seemed to be a totally unnecessary addition to the book.
Overall, I thought this was a very unpleasant and horrible book. I’m not sure what the author’s objectives were except maybe to demonstrate that some parents can be extremely selfish and clueless about protecting their children no matter how rich and important. The adults’ absolutely horrific behaviors are very disturbing and unbelievable for most readers. In spite of this, I was drawn into the story wanting to see how it ended and hoping for a satisfying conclusion. But no matter if there was some revenge, nothing could make the resolution OK.
Warning: this book contains violence and sexual abuse involving children.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.