The Ruined House

"This is a beautiful book, originally written in Hebrew by Ruby Namdar, an Israeli author based in the United States. It’s about a New York University professor of comparative culture called Andrew Cohen during the year leading up to 9/11 . The professor starts having weird visions which interfere with his romantic relationships and his relationships with his children. He thinks that he’s going insane. As the reader, we question his sanity too. Interspersed with his story are sections of texts written in the style of the Talmud, an ancient Jewish text. At first, these sections seem like random bits of religious gobbledygook. But if you read carefully, a second story emerges about a young priest at the centre of Judaism in ancient times. This second story parallels the professor’s story. The undertow of ancient times is pulling this 21st-century character back. The story is making the argument that the past never goes away. Even as we try to divorce ourselves from the past, our ancestors and aspects of our past keep a claim on us. The Ruined House is a warning that we ignore those claims at our peril. It’s an amazingly creative and beautifully written book. The Ruined House takes you back to the ancient temple that Hanukkah celebrates reclaiming. And it powerfully makes the point that we’re all connected to the history that haunts us."