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Book Review: The Ruin of Delicate Things

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Book Review

The Ruin of Delicate Things

By: Beverley Lee

Ghost Suspense/Horror Suspense
3.5 Stars

Barrington Hall is a place of secrets—something Dan Morgan has worked hard to forget. But when a heart-breaking loss brings him back to the place where he spent his childhood summers, Barrington Hall will do what it must to make him remember.

Faye Morgan blames her husband for the death of their teenage son. She doesn’t want to leave the place Toby called home. But after she catches a glimpse of a strange boy in the midnight woods and learns of his connection with Barrington Hall, her need to learn more pulls her further and further into a nightmare world filled with past atrocities and the burning flame of revenge.

A tale of grief and horror, The Ruin of Delicate Things explores how loss can leave a hole inside of us. A hole large enough for anything to crawl into.

Here’s one of those books I struggle to rate and review. I loved the setting of The Ruin of Delicate Things, by Beverley Lee. Ghosts and haunted houses and Fae mixed into a tale that had me dying to dig up the history; the cause. Questions of what was real and who was fighting for what side kept the suspense thick.

But there were a few things that kept catching me wrong. Things that shook me from the story. Things that when I try to put into words, make me wonder if I should have liked this book more than I did. Isn’t this one of the reasons art is hard to quantify? Because sometimes things just don’t resonate with some, while it does with others? Maybe that’s all this comes down to; that undefinable thing that sometimes makes things likable, or not. And I did like this book, I just wish it were better.

The ending is one that I normally am a fan of. A little ambiguity can be great. But here, I was left more unsatisfied than anything. Still, the last 20% of the book was difficult to put down. I’d say, if you like suspense and/or ghost stories, try this out.

Happy Reading 🙂

Update: I have never updated a review, but reading another book made me realize what I couldn’t put my finger on. Not only realize, but feel the need to explain.

Petulance. That was the problem. The main characters in The Ruin of Delicate Things while their struggle was very real and very dark, their attitudes were petulant. It made the narrative annoying rather than drawing sympathy from me.

Have you read Ruin, yet? What do you think?

The Irony of the Law of Unintended Consequences

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The changes in social movement have effected all our lives. Whether by a lot, or not, is for each of us to determine on our own. For the most part, my life is not a lot different. I’ve been blessed to be able to work from home for the last few years, and while I had planned to go back to work right before the original U.S. outbreak shut down the states, my introverted hombodiedness was already used to being shut in. (I know a lot of us call ourselves introverts, but you should talk to me before you label yourself one 😉 I had this not leaving the house thing down way before it was forced on us).

Photo by Stanley Dai on Unsplash

COVID did change my plans, though. Six days before shutdown, we were about to sign the lease on our first apartment together. We’ve lived together for years, but always with roommates or as guests as we traveled back and forth, up and down the East Coast. Not being absolutely positive on our timetable (and not loving the apartment), we stalled. Best decision ever.

But I couldn’t wait around anymore. I couldn’t sit in Florida, feeling trapped. So, back to NY to visit my sister and see what might happen. Well, nothing happened. Still in shut down. Still unable to do the work we could do. Now, we’re still here, in NY, facing another winter when we swore, three years ago, we never would again.

Here’s where the irony plays out. This time, making the conscious decision to deal with a CNY winter, we told ourselves we weren’t going to sit around complaining about the snow and cold. We were going to embrace it, and involve ourselves in winter things. The ideas were to snowshoe and/or cross-country ski (lots of open land around my sister’s place). We shot down the idea of snowboarding or downhill skiing because of cost factors. Also, Jason says he’s too big to hurl himself down a mountain at speed where he will inevitably fall and probably break himself. Fair.

Cool. We have winter activities planned around our attitude adjustment. Leveling up. Yay.

Photo by David Heslop on Unsplash

It’s now January, and there has been one good snowfall. I’m not complaining, just pointing out the irony. Finally ready for snow, and there is no snow. I know it’s early in the season here in CNY. I’ve seen six foot snow drifts in April. My main hatred of winter is having to drive in the flash snowstorms that happen in lake effect areas. Nothing I’ve ever done is important enough to be out on the roads. Too bad my employers never felt the same. Again, irony. I’m not working out of the house. I don’t have to be on the roads, and it’s the perfect year for it.

I am about to start working, about to start having to leave the house. I’m sure winter will hard then 😉 At least I’ll finally be able to justify new winter pants and jacket 🙂

A Stoic Nature

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I’ve followed Ryan Holiday‘s Daily Stoic newsletter for a couple of years now. When I stumbled across stoicism, it resonated with me. So many of the philosophy’s principles were how I already viewed the world, so the leap to study more was a sliding step rather than some great plummet.

Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

I recently began reading The Obstacle is the Way, by Holiday. In it, key stoic philosophies are highlighted and given modern examples of how the principles are practiced. As I read, I often think, “I wish so-and-so would read this so they would start thinking/reacting this way.” Two problems with that. First of all, who am I to say anything about how another person should think. Obviously, how I think is the best way, despite having nothing to prove that it, except my word (I think that only works if you’re a parent. Because I said so). And secondly, should reading philosophy be about pointing out how someone else could be better? About adding fuel to better judge the world? I wouldn’t say I had a large ego, but I think this thought proves this wrong. *moment of silence to humbly reflect*

This considering how others would benefit from what I’m reading, wondering how it might positively impact them, got me wondering how one sways towards a side. In this case, a side is a philosophy. I have it easy in that my brain naturally processes things in a stoic nature, at least in comparison to most of the people I know. So, do others find stoicism, or some other philosophy, that’s outside their default and work on becoming more that way? Have I taken the easy way out by just furthering my natural inclination?

I’m sure the question can be talked about from an ideal viewpoint, as well as an empirical one. Should we all be trying to be better every day? Should we all be reading more philosophy and other material that will make us better people? Of course. How many people do? In my circle, pathetically few. But that’s not my point here. I’m simply asking if we take the path our brains are already mapped for? Do I love to read about the stoics because I already understand? Maybe I have to find some philosophy I don’t really get and study that to know.

What do you think?