A review by gieselleusc
The Magnificent Ruins by Nayantara Roy

4.0

This was a little slow for me, but I thought this was an honest and unflinching look at the complexities of family, grief, intergenerational trauma, and belonging. Lila went on a SUPER messy journey during her time in Kolkata, which was painful at times (and honestly I’m not sure if the messy sections about her love life were truly necessary? I guess in an intergenerational trauma kind of way, but honestly we had enough of that with her relationship to her mother.) I appreciated how the author gave us new perspectives on the family dynamics throughout the book so that we could blur the lines between victim and perpetrator and understand why people behaved a certain way. I did think the central mystery of

whether or not her grandfather truly left the house to her wrapped up in the weirdest way…because why wouldn’t they have talked to the actual lawyers who handled the will immediately?  I also wish we got better answers re: why the grandfather left it to her but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter.

overall, this was a meaty book that I would recommend to anyone who likes complex, messy family dynamics.