Ruins

Ruins is Amy Taylor’s second novel after the hugely successful, and Readings Prize shortlisted, Search History. Both books explore modern-day relationships, tensions, deceit and privilege. Where Search History is darkly funny, Ruins is more serious in tone; it is, in fact, a tragedy.

From the outset, we know that this story is not going to turn out well. Our protagonists’ downfalls are hinted at in the prologue. This unease sits in the back of your head throughout the whole book, ensuring you turn over every angle and interaction looking for the rot, and of rot there is plenty.

In Act 1 (yes, there are three), we hark back three months to find Emma and Julian in Corfu, where they are unwinding before they head to Athens to housesit for a friend. Julian is an academic who has seized the chance to be closer to the origins of his work; Emma has just walked away from a PR job she thrived in and is looking for her next move. We learn that after a mutual agreement to remain childless, Emma fell pregnant, but then miscarried. Since they first met, they had always been on the same page; however, recently they have been drifting apart. The hope is that this trip will bring them closer together. It is here on the island that Emma has a sexual fantasy that involves another person, which she becomes determined to make a reality. And from there the tragedy unfolds.

Taylor masterfully layers her characters: they are flawed, they are insufferable, they are human. Even though you know this story is not going to end well, it is unclear exactly how it is going to unravel – a marvel, really, when you consider the setup.