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The Magnificent Ruins
When Lila returns to India from the United States after inheriting an ancestral home, she must confront a culture that has always been a part of her, her mother from whom she has been estranged for a decade, and her family (grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins) who all still live in the house. These family members resent her sudden inheritance of this humongous home, a stunning display of the status and culture of the zamindars, India's ruling class that was so firmly shaped by British colonial rule.
As Lila navigates romantic entanglements and her family’s deep mistrust, a legacy of violence in the family can no longer be ignored. In the aftermath of her cousin Biddy's wedding, an uncle is dead, and her grandmother unwillingly reveals her own secrets. With a lawsuit against Lila gathering steam and a police investigation triggered, Lila must finally reckon with her inherited custom of sweeping everything under the rug to preserve appearances.
With an unforgettable house at its heart, a violent past erupting into the present, a problematic romance, and a compelling and conflicted heroine, this novel is an utterly addictive read.
As Lila navigates romantic entanglements and her family’s deep mistrust, a legacy of violence in the family can no longer be ignored. In the aftermath of her cousin Biddy's wedding, an uncle is dead, and her grandmother unwillingly reveals her own secrets. With a lawsuit against Lila gathering steam and a police investigation triggered, Lila must finally reckon with her inherited custom of sweeping everything under the rug to preserve appearances.
With an unforgettable house at its heart, a violent past erupting into the present, a problematic romance, and a compelling and conflicted heroine, this novel is an utterly addictive read.
439 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 12, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 414 reviews
November 7, 2024
There must be some families somewhere that peacefully transfer real estate, but they don’t get much press. At least since Jacob and Esau, stories about property have been a stew of strife. If you don’t believe me, talk to the lawyers for King Lear’s daughters — a bleak house among many.
Nayantara Roy uses this age-old conflict as the spark for her engrossing debut novel, “The Magnificent Ruins.” The narrator is Lila De, a smart young book editor at a New York publishing company that’s just been bought by a billionaire. For Lila, the acquisition means a huge promotion, but just as her publishing house is being radically upgraded, a house of a different sort disrupts her life.
In the summer of 2015, Lila receives news that she’s inherited her grandfather’s palatial old residence — a grand five-story building with carved pillars and Roman windows. This is hardly an unencumbered windfall, though. The house is 8,000 miles away in India — location, location, location! And what’s even more complicated: The house is inhabited by three generations of Lila’s family. Professionally, the timing couldn’t be worse, but Lila secures permission for an eight-week leave of absence and flies off to Kolkata to figure out what she should do with her ancestral home.
It’s no accident that we use the word “story” to describe the levels of a house and the plot of a book. Roy’s roomy novel draws us deep into the way family history is inscribed on buildings. With “The Magnificent Ruins,” she....
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
Nayantara Roy uses this age-old conflict as the spark for her engrossing debut novel, “The Magnificent Ruins.” The narrator is Lila De, a smart young book editor at a New York publishing company that’s just been bought by a billionaire. For Lila, the acquisition means a huge promotion, but just as her publishing house is being radically upgraded, a house of a different sort disrupts her life.
In the summer of 2015, Lila receives news that she’s inherited her grandfather’s palatial old residence — a grand five-story building with carved pillars and Roman windows. This is hardly an unencumbered windfall, though. The house is 8,000 miles away in India — location, location, location! And what’s even more complicated: The house is inhabited by three generations of Lila’s family. Professionally, the timing couldn’t be worse, but Lila secures permission for an eight-week leave of absence and flies off to Kolkata to figure out what she should do with her ancestral home.
It’s no accident that we use the word “story” to describe the levels of a house and the plot of a book. Roy’s roomy novel draws us deep into the way family history is inscribed on buildings. With “The Magnificent Ruins,” she....
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
November 23, 2025
There are almost two whole stories in this novel - the story of Lila De and who she is and how she became a rising editor at a house on the cusp of greatness and the story of Lila De's family in Kolkata. Lila navigates the requests of her grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins as well as what her estranged mother wants. And As most stories set in India, the customs, the food, the culture itself is a character all of it's own. Highly recommend.
August 8, 2025
🏆 Are you, too, disappointed by the lack of diversity in the Goodreads Choice Awards?
I’ve seen some people make their own, so I decided to hop on that train. I don’t even like Taylor Swift, but here is Mai’s Version.
--
Trauma does not leave our bodies easily. It is inherited by our children and translated, an inevitable language in our genes and blood, insidious in its ability to lie in wait under newborn skin, always at the ready to eventually morph and strike, and in that moment you will be fathoming of how certainly and quickly you might have turned into your mother. There was to be no freedom for us—not for my grandmother, my mother or myself. This I knew finally. Our unending cycles of hatred looped around us, a circular, rhythmic beat clanging on the prison walls of our violence, as we passed them on, calling them our mansions, generation after generation.
I have not been this enthralled in a family saga in quite some time. Immigrant families. Asian families. Indian families. Deep down, we're all the same. Secrets and lies will destroy us, but not so much as outsiders trying to pry in.
Lila is an editor at a prestigious publishing house. She has lived on the East Coast for quite some time, having followed her father there after he and her mother divorce. That scandal still follows her mother in India, a very traditional society.
One of Lila's authors, and occasional lover, Seth, is everything a pretentious rich white Jewish boy is: he lives in Brooklyn, he writes, and he is just a tad emotionally unavailable. If you're a LA girlie, he could be a Silver Lake boy.
He had been born into wealth and bred in Manhattan; at his book launch, his friends were familiar faces—occupants of the middle ranks of the Times, the New Yorker, the Paris Review, and my bookshelf. It was territory I knew how to navigate, and I prided myself on having reached the same literary circles without pedigree or trust fund or whiteness.
Aetos, a big corporation I liken to Amazon, is buying out the publishing house. Changes are being made. Layoffs occur. Lila, however, is promoted. Is this a diversity promotion? Is it something else? We don't know, because concurrently, her maternal grandfather in India dies. He has left her the family home. This doesn't go over well with his siblings, various family members, and her mother, all of whom still live in the house.
As soon as Lila steps off the plane, questions abound. Not about her dead grandfather. Not about why she has inherited the house. About her love life. Asian families truly are all the same.
"So do you have a husband yet or not?"
"Yes, he's in my bag. I forgot him on the way over here."
Lila, like most big city people, is in therapy. Her mother plays a large part in this. I won't place all of the blame on one parent. I also haven't forgotten sad Jewish boy Seth. However, there is a boy from her youth still lurking in the background. Now that she is back in India, he is no longer in the background. He is, however, married. That doesn't stop them.
Lila's mother is rather invasive about her love life, or lack thereof. This sounds like an exact conversation I've had with my parents.
"Well, I'm not seeing anyone exclusively right now."
"What does that mean? What is 'exclusive'? Like, special? Like an exclusive designer dress?"
Family sagas aren't really family sagas without secrets, lies, and a little crime. I won't say I was floored by what happens toward the end, and I won't say I'm unhappy, either. You get what you get.
Book pairings: A GOOD INDIAN GIRL | MUCH ADO ABOUT NADA | THE HENNA ARTIST
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books
I’ve seen some people make their own, so I decided to hop on that train. I don’t even like Taylor Swift, but here is Mai’s Version.
--
Trauma does not leave our bodies easily. It is inherited by our children and translated, an inevitable language in our genes and blood, insidious in its ability to lie in wait under newborn skin, always at the ready to eventually morph and strike, and in that moment you will be fathoming of how certainly and quickly you might have turned into your mother. There was to be no freedom for us—not for my grandmother, my mother or myself. This I knew finally. Our unending cycles of hatred looped around us, a circular, rhythmic beat clanging on the prison walls of our violence, as we passed them on, calling them our mansions, generation after generation.
I have not been this enthralled in a family saga in quite some time. Immigrant families. Asian families. Indian families. Deep down, we're all the same. Secrets and lies will destroy us, but not so much as outsiders trying to pry in.
Lila is an editor at a prestigious publishing house. She has lived on the East Coast for quite some time, having followed her father there after he and her mother divorce. That scandal still follows her mother in India, a very traditional society.
One of Lila's authors, and occasional lover, Seth, is everything a pretentious rich white Jewish boy is: he lives in Brooklyn, he writes, and he is just a tad emotionally unavailable. If you're a LA girlie, he could be a Silver Lake boy.
He had been born into wealth and bred in Manhattan; at his book launch, his friends were familiar faces—occupants of the middle ranks of the Times, the New Yorker, the Paris Review, and my bookshelf. It was territory I knew how to navigate, and I prided myself on having reached the same literary circles without pedigree or trust fund or whiteness.
Aetos, a big corporation I liken to Amazon, is buying out the publishing house. Changes are being made. Layoffs occur. Lila, however, is promoted. Is this a diversity promotion? Is it something else? We don't know, because concurrently, her maternal grandfather in India dies. He has left her the family home. This doesn't go over well with his siblings, various family members, and her mother, all of whom still live in the house.
As soon as Lila steps off the plane, questions abound. Not about her dead grandfather. Not about why she has inherited the house. About her love life. Asian families truly are all the same.
"So do you have a husband yet or not?"
"Yes, he's in my bag. I forgot him on the way over here."
Lila, like most big city people, is in therapy. Her mother plays a large part in this. I won't place all of the blame on one parent. I also haven't forgotten sad Jewish boy Seth. However, there is a boy from her youth still lurking in the background. Now that she is back in India, he is no longer in the background. He is, however, married. That doesn't stop them.
Lila's mother is rather invasive about her love life, or lack thereof. This sounds like an exact conversation I've had with my parents.
"Well, I'm not seeing anyone exclusively right now."
"What does that mean? What is 'exclusive'? Like, special? Like an exclusive designer dress?"
Family sagas aren't really family sagas without secrets, lies, and a little crime. I won't say I was floored by what happens toward the end, and I won't say I'm unhappy, either. You get what you get.
Book pairings: A GOOD INDIAN GIRL | MUCH ADO ABOUT NADA | THE HENNA ARTIST
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books
August 1, 2024
The Magnificent Ruins by Nayantara Roy
So many thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin books for the opportunity to read The Magnificent Ruins by Nayantara Roy. The story follows Lila, a young woman of Indian descent currently living in New York working as an editor. Born in Kolkata to Indian parents who divorced when Lila was young, she lived 16 years there with her mother and extended family in their huge ancestral home. At sixteen she moves to New York to live with her father and stepmother (who is white) and her two half siblings.
Now an adult living in NYC, Lila is finding success in her career when she receives a call that her beloved grandfather has died and left the family mansion to her. She takes a leave of absence from her job and travels to Kolkata and immerses herself into the lives of her extended family once again. She must decide what to do with the massive home that tho once grand has fallen into disrepair, help plan for her cousin Biddy’s wedding, face her first love who is now married, but most of all she must face her mother and the rest of her complicated family.
I loved the setting of Kolkata and I’m fascinated with Indian culture. Reading Roy’s rich descriptions of the city, its people, their way of living, the food and the customs there drew me in and brought it all alive for me. I could see the people and places she describes in my mind and felt that I was climbing the many steps to walk the floors of the Lahiri family home.
The characters are vivid and real, brought to life by the author’s hand. Their different personalities and backgrounds and Lila’s interactions with them propel the story forward.
I believe at its heart this story is Lila’s struggle to understand herself amidst the backdrop of her family’s ancestral home and the people that inhabit it. She has had a complicated relationship with her mother her whole life. Her mother is often cold and harsh, manic even, going long periods where she will not communicate with Lila. The family hides many secrets and even relatives that Lila has always deeply loved prove to be enigmas as she spends more time in close proximity with them. Lila is torn between the culture and customs of her native India and those of her adopted home in New York City. Is she “the American” as her family calls her or is she truly Indian? I loved seeing Lila confront her long held beliefs about these different family members and herself as she rises to the role of manager of the family home and all that entails. Her struggle to understand herself and her relationships with those close to her kept me invested until the very last page.
Roy has written an extraordinary debut in The Magnificent Ruins that is rich and deeply felt. I will definitely recommend this to others as a wonderful read!
January 5, 2025
sometimes i read a book and I’m like damn why did I pick this up and then I get 98% of the way through and the entire perspective changes and suddenly I’m gasping out loud at midnight like oh okay i get it slay
August 19, 2024
What a story - This Indian-American tale has nothing on Bollywood!
Lila De is about to be promoted when she learns that she has inherited a behemoth crumbling mansion in her Indian childhood home. She rushes to her family and begins to unravel the many, many stories that make up Family Lahiri. Literally stories, as family members live on each of the five floors of the home!
There are almost two whole stories in this novel - the story of Lila De and who she is and how she became a rising editor at a house on the cusp of greatness and the story of Lila De's family in Kolkata. Lila navigates the requests of her grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins as well as what her estranged mother wants. And As most stories set in India (at least for me), the customs, the food, the culture itself is a character all of it's own.
The story is so incredibly beautiful and winding - much like the mansion itself, there are little stories within stories and it's easy to forget the main path of the novel. Before long you are completely enmeshed in the family's fears, wants and desires.
All in all, a favorite tale of mine and something you are sure to fall in love with. Even now, I wish I could zoom with Lila's family and have them tell me I need to eat more, change my outfit, get a husband :)
Thank you netgalley!
#algonquin #themagnificentruins #nayantararoy
Lila De is about to be promoted when she learns that she has inherited a behemoth crumbling mansion in her Indian childhood home. She rushes to her family and begins to unravel the many, many stories that make up Family Lahiri. Literally stories, as family members live on each of the five floors of the home!
There are almost two whole stories in this novel - the story of Lila De and who she is and how she became a rising editor at a house on the cusp of greatness and the story of Lila De's family in Kolkata. Lila navigates the requests of her grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins as well as what her estranged mother wants. And As most stories set in India (at least for me), the customs, the food, the culture itself is a character all of it's own.
The story is so incredibly beautiful and winding - much like the mansion itself, there are little stories within stories and it's easy to forget the main path of the novel. Before long you are completely enmeshed in the family's fears, wants and desires.
All in all, a favorite tale of mine and something you are sure to fall in love with. Even now, I wish I could zoom with Lila's family and have them tell me I need to eat more, change my outfit, get a husband :)
Thank you netgalley!
#algonquin #themagnificentruins #nayantararoy
June 4, 2025
3.75 stars
Vikram Seth and Thrity Umrigar meet Rebecca in this sweeping multi-generational debut novel by accomplished television executive Nayantara Roy, about a young Indian American book editor from Brooklyn who returns to Kolkata when she learns that she has inherited her family’s enormous ancestral home, and the secrets that lie within it.
Lila De is a successful woman in publishing in New York. When she gets a surprise inheritance of the family home in Kolkata, she takes eight weeks off work to handle all the arrangements in India. What follows is a coming of age story, a clash of Western and Eastern values and culture, a history of domestic violence and misogyny as well as a closeted gay friend in India. Lila has a poor relationship with her mother but as family secrets are revealed, it leads to greater understanding and empathy.
I really enjoyed the premise of the novel and the assimilation of an Indian woman in America trying to fit in when she returns to India as well as sometimes feeling xonflicted in America.🇮🇳
Vikram Seth and Thrity Umrigar meet Rebecca in this sweeping multi-generational debut novel by accomplished television executive Nayantara Roy, about a young Indian American book editor from Brooklyn who returns to Kolkata when she learns that she has inherited her family’s enormous ancestral home, and the secrets that lie within it.
Lila De is a successful woman in publishing in New York. When she gets a surprise inheritance of the family home in Kolkata, she takes eight weeks off work to handle all the arrangements in India. What follows is a coming of age story, a clash of Western and Eastern values and culture, a history of domestic violence and misogyny as well as a closeted gay friend in India. Lila has a poor relationship with her mother but as family secrets are revealed, it leads to greater understanding and empathy.
I really enjoyed the premise of the novel and the assimilation of an Indian woman in America trying to fit in when she returns to India as well as sometimes feeling xonflicted in America.🇮🇳
August 2, 2025
Although this story meanders a little, I became quite attached to fiesty Lila, rather pissed off that she has to go back to India to sort her family out. This in spite of the fact that she never intended to return to the place or her mixed up and multi-layered family. She's got a life. A fantastic NY life. Yet in one moment that all changes. Now, evidently, Lila has the ancient ruins of her family to manage, sell or otherwise reconcile as her grandfather's parting gift (if one could call it that) to her. She's the responsible one.
Rather a maze of a tale, with many a crazy relative with an agenda, who has a plan to help Lila through the mess. And there is that old boyfriend left lying around. . .
Want a romp to India? Here's the book to read!
*A sincere thank you to Nayantara Roy, Algonquin Books, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #TheMagnificentRuins #NetGalley 25|52:41d
Rather a maze of a tale, with many a crazy relative with an agenda, who has a plan to help Lila through the mess. And there is that old boyfriend left lying around. . .
Want a romp to India? Here's the book to read!
*A sincere thank you to Nayantara Roy, Algonquin Books, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #TheMagnificentRuins #NetGalley 25|52:41d
August 19, 2024
This family saga stars Lila, a young American who was brought up in India and moves to the US to live with her father and his new wife in high school. When her grandfather dies, he leaves the family home to Lila. This ‘home’ is 6 stories and houses most of the Grandfather’s decedents. While the family was once prosperous, their fortune is dwindling. I enjoyed learning about each of the characters and the author did a great job interspersing their backstories. These characters are richly drawn. There are a couple of love interests in the book that didn’t enhance the story neither did a mystery that was woven in at the end. I did enjoy the description of the politics. At ~450 pages, it was too long and these extra storylines detracted from the main story. The book kept my attention and I was always curious about what is next. 3.5*
November 12, 2024
As always, thanks to Algonquin Books for sending me this ARC! I think this is the first book I have read published by them and it won't be my last.
Reading this book was like reading a Bollywood movie! Every emotion you can think of was conjured while reading this story. It even had a little twist at the end that I was not expecting and I audibly said "WAIT WHAT!?" and had to go back and reread a little bit for the "O.M.G." moment.
The author did an amazing job with the world building. I could see every landscape and taste every meal as if I was standing in the world with the characters. Also the little tid-bits of history on the region and political climate added so much to the story.
Reading this book was like reading a Bollywood movie! Every emotion you can think of was conjured while reading this story. It even had a little twist at the end that I was not expecting and I audibly said "WAIT WHAT!?" and had to go back and reread a little bit for the "O.M.G." moment.
The author did an amazing job with the world building. I could see every landscape and taste every meal as if I was standing in the world with the characters. Also the little tid-bits of history on the region and political climate added so much to the story.
March 1, 2025
***3/1/25*** FINISHED! This is a pretty ambitious novel dealing with some coming-of-age transitions for adult Lila, born in India, but living the American life in NYC as a book editor. Unique to most Indian families, her parents divorced and she has a tumultuous and fraught relationship with her mother in India, while her US-based remarried father brought kindness and stability.
The book offers significant side-stories about Lila's fuzzy romantic intentions and actions. Does she want an Indian partner who shares her upbringing and culture, or a modern American man who tries to get closer? Does she want to marry or be a friends-with-benefits?
We have a narrative about Lila's career aspirations - she is good at her job and able to find and cultivate relationships with great writers, which makes her highly promotable, but is that what she wants? Does any of it relate back to her inheriting a significant asset in India, worth a lot of money? Should she keep the house or sell it and invest in her American life? What is her role in maintaining the family legacy through this "place," the Indian home?
But the real nucleus of the story is Lila's family of origin living in "the magnificent ruins" - the home that has been in her family for generations - a multi-generational mansion filled with trauma, alliances, hatred, and love. As the story develops, the onion is peeled back, revealing the truth about different people, and later, revealing the real history of her mother and grandmother, giving Lila a jarringly new reality to her entire upbringing.
Though the book is centered primarily on 2-months Lila spends in India (she was given 8-weeks off from her job to settle her legal matters, and "Not a day more"), the book unofficially offers flashbacks to memories family members have. There are no structural flashbacks in this book that we see in so many modern novels, thank goodness. Lila's time in India becomes transformative, helping her create her new future with new relationships, one that she would never have achieved had she not spent the time in India.
I liked the book, but did feel it tackled a lot of issues (even more than are mentioned here, like some DV, being closeted, misogyny) that made the book fairly long and a tiny bit meandering. I liked the writing and vivid descriptions of India, and Lila's journey. I just felt it could have been tightened up to keep the best aspects of the book and not diffusing the messages with so many of them. 4-stars.
*2/20/25* Just started this on the recommendation of a book-loving friend. It is a bit longer book at nearly 450-pages, but I'm sailing through it very quickly, at 50% after only a day or two. Early observations: Great insight into modern day Indian culture, and the clash of Indian people living in India versus the US. I love that Main Character Lila, who was born in India and lived there until a teenager, is smart and shows different parts of her personality and life: professional, close family, friends, lovers. She is tackling this "big issue" of inheriting an ancestral home, where extended multi-generations of her family live, and there are mysteries she uncovers as she does navigates it beyond the mystery of why she was chosen to inherit it. So far I love it, as I am a fan of books featuring ensemble casts of characters in modern times, with both plot and character development. Will report back when I finish, but so far this is a recommendation, especially for fans of India-centric novels, which are luckily pretty prevalent now.
The book offers significant side-stories about Lila's fuzzy romantic intentions and actions. Does she want an Indian partner who shares her upbringing and culture, or a modern American man who tries to get closer? Does she want to marry or be a friends-with-benefits?
We have a narrative about Lila's career aspirations - she is good at her job and able to find and cultivate relationships with great writers, which makes her highly promotable, but is that what she wants? Does any of it relate back to her inheriting a significant asset in India, worth a lot of money? Should she keep the house or sell it and invest in her American life? What is her role in maintaining the family legacy through this "place," the Indian home?
But the real nucleus of the story is Lila's family of origin living in "the magnificent ruins" - the home that has been in her family for generations - a multi-generational mansion filled with trauma, alliances, hatred, and love. As the story develops, the onion is peeled back, revealing the truth about different people, and later, revealing the real history of her mother and grandmother, giving Lila a jarringly new reality to her entire upbringing.
Though the book is centered primarily on 2-months Lila spends in India (she was given 8-weeks off from her job to settle her legal matters, and "Not a day more"), the book unofficially offers flashbacks to memories family members have. There are no structural flashbacks in this book that we see in so many modern novels, thank goodness. Lila's time in India becomes transformative, helping her create her new future with new relationships, one that she would never have achieved had she not spent the time in India.
I liked the book, but did feel it tackled a lot of issues (even more than are mentioned here, like some DV, being closeted, misogyny) that made the book fairly long and a tiny bit meandering. I liked the writing and vivid descriptions of India, and Lila's journey. I just felt it could have been tightened up to keep the best aspects of the book and not diffusing the messages with so many of them. 4-stars.
*2/20/25* Just started this on the recommendation of a book-loving friend. It is a bit longer book at nearly 450-pages, but I'm sailing through it very quickly, at 50% after only a day or two. Early observations: Great insight into modern day Indian culture, and the clash of Indian people living in India versus the US. I love that Main Character Lila, who was born in India and lived there until a teenager, is smart and shows different parts of her personality and life: professional, close family, friends, lovers. She is tackling this "big issue" of inheriting an ancestral home, where extended multi-generations of her family live, and there are mysteries she uncovers as she does navigates it beyond the mystery of why she was chosen to inherit it. So far I love it, as I am a fan of books featuring ensemble casts of characters in modern times, with both plot and character development. Will report back when I finish, but so far this is a recommendation, especially for fans of India-centric novels, which are luckily pretty prevalent now.
November 27, 2024
Lila (a young woman who moved to the US from India at age 16) is a book editor in New York who has just received a big promotion, when she learns that she has unexpectedly inherited her family’s very large home in India. She returns to Kolkata (where most of the story is set) to deal with her inheritance and her extended family, almost all of whom live in the house. To make matters more complicated, her old Indian boyfriend comes back on the scene and her best author/sometimes lover travels to India to be with her. Her relationships and confusion with and between these two men are nicely done, but it is her relationship with her various family members that takes the prize. From grandmother, to mother, to aunts, to cousins, to great nieces and nephews, there are secrets, feuds, general acting it out behavior and love. This large family is Indian, and Indian culture deeply affects the relationships and secrets, but in many ways it could be any big family anywhere - - which is what makes it so well done. That said, the scenes in India are vivid – full of wonderful descriptions of food, housing, customs and culture. I felt quite immersed in the setting. I wouldn’t call this true literature, but it was a very good story, very well told – and it is hard to believe that it is a debut. I will look forward to more from this author.
February 27, 2025
Kinda wanted to throw this one across the room. I'm all for unlikable characters but wow was Lila annoying! And her family was even worse. Also it's ironic that Lila is an editor because this book really needed one. I wish I had followed my gut and DNFed at 50%. Two stars for the depiction of Kolkata and Indian food.
October 28, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. I’ve just finished this book and I’m just absolutely in awe— this book is definitely a contender for one of my favorites this year and I think it is one that I will enjoy coming back to over the years, just stunning. The Magnificent Ruins is the story of Lila De, a young Indian American woman who immigrated to the US with her father in her teens from Kolkata, still in the wake of her parents scandalous divorce and from her difficult relationship with her mother. Lila, now age 29, is a successful book editor in Brooklyn and her world is upended when she receives a call telling her that her beloved grandfather has passed away and left the historic, sprawling family near-mansion to her, along with the estate. This kicks off the events of the story, as Lila travels back to Kolkata to reckon with this and with her immediate family, all of whom live in the home she’s just inherited.
This book was absolutely lush with beautiful prose and vivid descriptions of the city of Kolkata including the homes, the people, the food, the clothes, etc. The author’s writing was so evocative and transporting throughout the entire book and so, even though it was long, it didn’t feel like it. I was content to just live with these characters and within this setting for the whole reading experience.
The characters were so richly developed, as well, and felt like they were truly real. The author breathed so much life into them, showcasing their flaws, quirks, positive characteristics, and complex behaviors in such a way that they were fully three dimensional. There were a lot of themes and topics covered in this story and through the slow, languorous plot, they had the opportunity to truly flesh themselves out and sit with you. Topics like domestic abuse, caste, and generational trauma revealed themselves through these characters and were given the space to exist here, with no easy solution presented to take away from the realistic harsh nature of these topics. Our main character, Lila, struggles notably throughout this book with the back and forth pull she feels being Indian and American, being part of her mothers family and her fathers family, and what all of these emotions mean for her future— romantically, professionally, and even geographically. I so enjoyed being on this emotional journey with Lila and the entire Lahiri family. There is a section in the book where the author talks about Kolkata days versus New York days and how they stretch out lazily, without rush or haste, but instead, filled with relaxation and moments of joy and warmth— that is how reading this book felt, like beautiful, enjoyable, lengthy journey with these characters. I loved every minute of it.
I would highly recommend this book to literary fictions fans, readers who enjoy multi-generational family stories, and readers who enjoy character centric novels. I can’t wait to see this book out in the world and look forward to revisiting it myself with a finished copy, once it’s published!
This book was absolutely lush with beautiful prose and vivid descriptions of the city of Kolkata including the homes, the people, the food, the clothes, etc. The author’s writing was so evocative and transporting throughout the entire book and so, even though it was long, it didn’t feel like it. I was content to just live with these characters and within this setting for the whole reading experience.
The characters were so richly developed, as well, and felt like they were truly real. The author breathed so much life into them, showcasing their flaws, quirks, positive characteristics, and complex behaviors in such a way that they were fully three dimensional. There were a lot of themes and topics covered in this story and through the slow, languorous plot, they had the opportunity to truly flesh themselves out and sit with you. Topics like domestic abuse, caste, and generational trauma revealed themselves through these characters and were given the space to exist here, with no easy solution presented to take away from the realistic harsh nature of these topics. Our main character, Lila, struggles notably throughout this book with the back and forth pull she feels being Indian and American, being part of her mothers family and her fathers family, and what all of these emotions mean for her future— romantically, professionally, and even geographically. I so enjoyed being on this emotional journey with Lila and the entire Lahiri family. There is a section in the book where the author talks about Kolkata days versus New York days and how they stretch out lazily, without rush or haste, but instead, filled with relaxation and moments of joy and warmth— that is how reading this book felt, like beautiful, enjoyable, lengthy journey with these characters. I loved every minute of it.
I would highly recommend this book to literary fictions fans, readers who enjoy multi-generational family stories, and readers who enjoy character centric novels. I can’t wait to see this book out in the world and look forward to revisiting it myself with a finished copy, once it’s published!
February 13, 2025
3.5 stars.
I expected to love this one. A family saga, generational conflicts, inheritance drama, love triangles, good eats - what's not to love?
All those themes was ultimately what weakened this book in my opinion. This is a complicated, sprawling story and struggled under that weight as a debut outing. It needed much stronger foundations.
The story unfolds along multiple timelines in Kolkata and the US, and most of the story is from Lila De's POV. The other POVs, while helping flesh out older generations and their back stories, were handled in a clunky manner. The writing is good and that's what got me to the end.
I appreciated the feminist, family, publishing, and diaspora themes explored, and will certainly pick up whatever Ms. Roy writes next.
I expected to love this one. A family saga, generational conflicts, inheritance drama, love triangles, good eats - what's not to love?
All those themes was ultimately what weakened this book in my opinion. This is a complicated, sprawling story and struggled under that weight as a debut outing. It needed much stronger foundations.
The story unfolds along multiple timelines in Kolkata and the US, and most of the story is from Lila De's POV. The other POVs, while helping flesh out older generations and their back stories, were handled in a clunky manner. The writing is good and that's what got me to the end.
I appreciated the feminist, family, publishing, and diaspora themes explored, and will certainly pick up whatever Ms. Roy writes next.
December 16, 2024
Too long and slow moving.
August 24, 2024
THE MAGNIFICENT RUINS
By Nayantara Roy
Lila De is a successful editor in Mew York when she learns suddenly that her grandfather had passed away and left her their family’s five story ancestral home in Kolkata.
I loved reading Lila’s voice and her thoughts as she comes to terms with her newly inherited wealth, its burdens, her complex family dynamics, her complicated relationship with her mother, and her burgeoning career 8,000 miles away.
I love stories like these. As an Asian American with a whole lot of family still across the globe, I understand these scenarios as they are common to my family and the issues are certainly relatable to me and will be for so many.
I really enjoyed this one, and grabbed my attention from the first page.
By Nayantara Roy
Lila De is a successful editor in Mew York when she learns suddenly that her grandfather had passed away and left her their family’s five story ancestral home in Kolkata.
I loved reading Lila’s voice and her thoughts as she comes to terms with her newly inherited wealth, its burdens, her complex family dynamics, her complicated relationship with her mother, and her burgeoning career 8,000 miles away.
I love stories like these. As an Asian American with a whole lot of family still across the globe, I understand these scenarios as they are common to my family and the issues are certainly relatable to me and will be for so many.
I really enjoyed this one, and grabbed my attention from the first page.
March 7, 2025
2 1/2 - This book wasn’t for me. Too many themes, too many character back stories, too much empty space, and a main character who continued to struggle with herself. The writing wasn’t good enough to overcome the negatives and I barely squeaked through.
November 20, 2024
I liked aspects of this, but even after reading the whole book I still feel like I don't really know the characters and their motivations. Especially Lila - so this is more like a 2.5 for me.
March 20, 2025
i think the structure of this book has thrown me. the main character has a terrible relationship with her mother and comments near constantly on how terrible her mother is, but not once for the first 75% of the book do we see a genuine example of such. instead every moment with the mother comes across as a misunderstanding by the main character (who it seems is a little slow at understanding anything and completely socially inept when interacting with literally everyone — parents, friends, boss, therapist, extended family, lovers, and also every romantic situation she's in and is generally someone i found intensely stupid and wildly unlikable). this was such that when we did finally get the reveal about what the mother actually did, it was a bizarre and almost out of character choice. much of the plot was cookie-cutter and most of the primary characters i found unlikable. that being said: this was the most picture perfect accurate representation of Kolkata I have seen, from setting to background characters, to descriptions of food and place, the ambiance of the book is the only thing that redeemed it. i would not have finished the book if not for that most beautiful depiction.
March 28, 2025
dnf @ 40%
February 24, 2025
I just read this randomly, as I needed an audiobook. Without much thought, I'd gotten it as a free audiobook from Libro FM, and without remembering anything about it, I downloaded and started listening-- and was swept into this incredibly richly created world. I liked this very, very much.
Lila was raised in India, in Kolkata, until she was 16, in a 5-story house packed with several generations of her family and plenty of drama. Some of that drama is between Lila and her very complicated and difficult mother, and their explosive relationship is what eventually caused Lila to leave India and go to live with her father and his family in the United States. Now she's an adult, living in NYC, and is succeeding in the publishing world. She's just accepted an amazing promotions- when she hears that her grandfather in Kolkata has died, and that he left the family house to her. This is a huge unwelcome surprise to all her family who live in the house. She goes back to India for an extended trip to deal with real estate, lawyers, her high school boyfriend, and SO MUCH family drama.
This is a pretty long book, and I was very much immersed in it all the way through. The family was vivid and complicated, and I always really love India as a setting. I also enjoy family dynamics and a love triangle. This was very close to 5 stars.
Lila was raised in India, in Kolkata, until she was 16, in a 5-story house packed with several generations of her family and plenty of drama. Some of that drama is between Lila and her very complicated and difficult mother, and their explosive relationship is what eventually caused Lila to leave India and go to live with her father and his family in the United States. Now she's an adult, living in NYC, and is succeeding in the publishing world. She's just accepted an amazing promotions- when she hears that her grandfather in Kolkata has died, and that he left the family house to her. This is a huge unwelcome surprise to all her family who live in the house. She goes back to India for an extended trip to deal with real estate, lawyers, her high school boyfriend, and SO MUCH family drama.
This is a pretty long book, and I was very much immersed in it all the way through. The family was vivid and complicated, and I always really love India as a setting. I also enjoy family dynamics and a love triangle. This was very close to 5 stars.
January 11, 2025
Insane amount of depth and complexity for this entire family within 400 pages— this is why I love reading! I struggled with giving this a 5 because I don’t particularly like the romantic situationships but hey, people are allowed to be messy!
October 14, 2024
India - Lila is an Indian American book editor living in New York who returns to Kolkata when she learns that she has inherited her family’s enormous ancestral home, and the secrets that lie within it.
There is so much Indian culture in this novel and I enjoyed reading about it - Roy provides a rich imagery of the streets of India, from the food, architecture to customs, while also examining the way Indian lives are impacted by colonialism and modernization. With fluid prose, what Roy does even better is to expose the Indian family dynamics, with all its complexity and messiness. Much like the mansion left to Lila, the complex layers of the Indian family are dissected by Roy in the most raw way and the reader is able to navigate through the struggles of (the child of) divorced parents, siblings' relationship and convoluted mother-daughter bond.
Through the main character who grapples with the clash of cultures and at the same time, is trying to find her place whether in America or India, this book captures well themes of identity, family, generational trauma and belonging. Roy crafts often lost characters haunted by the legacies of their own stories, they are flawed and relatable in different ways. Lila, I have to say, gave me mixed feelings - as much as I wished to understand her as a whole, some of her decisions and actions can seem quite annoying which, alongside the side characters whose dynamics lack depth, they don't really leave an emotional imprint.
The plot acquires some dynamism when offering glimpses of the publishing industry, which I find these sections very engaging. Although I enjoyed the backstories in the Lahiri household which invite a further comprehension of the characters, the amount of side characters and side stories might distract the reader from the main plot. More often than not, there's a lull in the plot, which makes it lengthy, therefore detracting from one's full investment in the story. The ending felt quite convenient, which I found satisfaction in certain aspects while being unconvinced by other plot devices (especially regarding the closure of one particular character, the romance and politics).
THE MAGNIFICENT RUINS is for those wanting to read about realistic and chaotic family relationships and complexity of belonging. While this novel adds a unique perspective, I would have appreciated this book more with a better execution and editing.
[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Algonquin books . All thoughts are my own ]
There is so much Indian culture in this novel and I enjoyed reading about it - Roy provides a rich imagery of the streets of India, from the food, architecture to customs, while also examining the way Indian lives are impacted by colonialism and modernization. With fluid prose, what Roy does even better is to expose the Indian family dynamics, with all its complexity and messiness. Much like the mansion left to Lila, the complex layers of the Indian family are dissected by Roy in the most raw way and the reader is able to navigate through the struggles of (the child of) divorced parents, siblings' relationship and convoluted mother-daughter bond.
Through the main character who grapples with the clash of cultures and at the same time, is trying to find her place whether in America or India, this book captures well themes of identity, family, generational trauma and belonging. Roy crafts often lost characters haunted by the legacies of their own stories, they are flawed and relatable in different ways. Lila, I have to say, gave me mixed feelings - as much as I wished to understand her as a whole, some of her decisions and actions can seem quite annoying which, alongside the side characters whose dynamics lack depth, they don't really leave an emotional imprint.
The plot acquires some dynamism when offering glimpses of the publishing industry, which I find these sections very engaging. Although I enjoyed the backstories in the Lahiri household which invite a further comprehension of the characters, the amount of side characters and side stories might distract the reader from the main plot. More often than not, there's a lull in the plot, which makes it lengthy, therefore detracting from one's full investment in the story. The ending felt quite convenient, which I found satisfaction in certain aspects while being unconvinced by other plot devices (especially regarding the closure of one particular character, the romance and politics).
THE MAGNIFICENT RUINS is for those wanting to read about realistic and chaotic family relationships and complexity of belonging. While this novel adds a unique perspective, I would have appreciated this book more with a better execution and editing.
[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Algonquin books . All thoughts are my own ]
January 24, 2025
3.5 set in Brooklyn then mostly in India: a family scarred and damaged by generational abuse. Learned a great deal about politics and caste system past and present
Read
October 25, 2024When Tolstoy said, “All happy families are like; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” he laid a blueprint for the Lahiris. In “The Magnificent Ruins,” a cast of relatives is trapped together under one crumbling roof, united by their common distrust of their American relative who has just inherited their ancestral home instead of them.
Anyone who has been forced to straddle the line between East and West will find something relatable in Laila, Nayantara Roy’s plucky heroine, who struggles to put her finger on what it means to be “Indian enough.” Her unexpected journey to Kolkata to face her newly inherited family home puts her on a painful path of uprooting generational trauma while diagnosing her own culpability in perpetuating it. Readers are guaranteed to root fiercely for Laila as she finds herself trapped between a promising career and an overbearing family, a new love in Brooklyn and a first love in Kolkata, and challenging her family’s cultural norms versus the reliable comfort of looking the other way. Roy builds greater intrigue by smartly interweaving the complex history and politics that are intimate to Kolkata and the lived experience of its citizens through Laila’s point of view.
Being the token loud, opinionated, American girl in a messy, complicated, feuding family myself, Laila was a breath of fresh air. I cycled in anger and empathy toward my own family as the story went on, and closed with a reminder that no family is as black-and-white as purely happy or unhappy, moral or immoral. I am confident that I won’t be the only reader for whom Laila has charted the path toward a frank and overdue conversation with our mothers and families. This book is a reminder that familial love is earned, not owed; and that ugly truths need to be spoken to prevent cycles of violence.
Anyone who has been forced to straddle the line between East and West will find something relatable in Laila, Nayantara Roy’s plucky heroine, who struggles to put her finger on what it means to be “Indian enough.” Her unexpected journey to Kolkata to face her newly inherited family home puts her on a painful path of uprooting generational trauma while diagnosing her own culpability in perpetuating it. Readers are guaranteed to root fiercely for Laila as she finds herself trapped between a promising career and an overbearing family, a new love in Brooklyn and a first love in Kolkata, and challenging her family’s cultural norms versus the reliable comfort of looking the other way. Roy builds greater intrigue by smartly interweaving the complex history and politics that are intimate to Kolkata and the lived experience of its citizens through Laila’s point of view.
Being the token loud, opinionated, American girl in a messy, complicated, feuding family myself, Laila was a breath of fresh air. I cycled in anger and empathy toward my own family as the story went on, and closed with a reminder that no family is as black-and-white as purely happy or unhappy, moral or immoral. I am confident that I won’t be the only reader for whom Laila has charted the path toward a frank and overdue conversation with our mothers and families. This book is a reminder that familial love is earned, not owed; and that ugly truths need to be spoken to prevent cycles of violence.
September 10, 2024
THE MAGNIFICENT RUINS by Nayantara Roy
Absolutely spellbinding and utterly transportive, I was completely mesmerized by Nayantara Roy’s, THE MAGNIFICENT RUINS. An addictive page-turner and sweeping family saga that transports the reader from Brooklyn to Kolkata, Roy’s arresting debut opens with the delicious premise: what happens when an up and coming NYC editor is suddenly bequeathed her family’s estate back home where she “must confront the legacy of an extended family she thought she left behind sixteen years ago”?
With the dazzling setting of Kolkata and Roy’s glittering prose, THE MAGNIFICENT RUINS, is destined to become an instant classic! Roy’s masterful hand at winding the narrative with twists—and then deftly twisting it again and again, drawing the reader further in at each turn—makes for an immersive, propulsive read that had me flipping the pages, desperate to find out what was going to happen next and who I should be loyal to, an ever-moving target that Roy teases over the span of the book.
I fell hard for Lila De and the complicated, twisty, but also heartwarming Lahiri family whose messy dynamics sometimes conjure shades of Knives Out, so much so that while this novel stands on its own, it also leaves the reader begging for a sequel!
Laced with Roy’s razor-sharp wit, richly-drawn characters, and also staggering ability to pierce the heart (the third act obliterated me, but in the best possible way!), I was wholly invested in Lila De’s journey as well as the second-chance romance narrative and also love triangle at the heart of the story. But ultimately, the true love story here is the sometimes torturous, but also transcendent love story between Lila and her family. Prepare to become obsessed!!
Absolutely spellbinding and utterly transportive, I was completely mesmerized by Nayantara Roy’s, THE MAGNIFICENT RUINS. An addictive page-turner and sweeping family saga that transports the reader from Brooklyn to Kolkata, Roy’s arresting debut opens with the delicious premise: what happens when an up and coming NYC editor is suddenly bequeathed her family’s estate back home where she “must confront the legacy of an extended family she thought she left behind sixteen years ago”?
With the dazzling setting of Kolkata and Roy’s glittering prose, THE MAGNIFICENT RUINS, is destined to become an instant classic! Roy’s masterful hand at winding the narrative with twists—and then deftly twisting it again and again, drawing the reader further in at each turn—makes for an immersive, propulsive read that had me flipping the pages, desperate to find out what was going to happen next and who I should be loyal to, an ever-moving target that Roy teases over the span of the book.
I fell hard for Lila De and the complicated, twisty, but also heartwarming Lahiri family whose messy dynamics sometimes conjure shades of Knives Out, so much so that while this novel stands on its own, it also leaves the reader begging for a sequel!
Laced with Roy’s razor-sharp wit, richly-drawn characters, and also staggering ability to pierce the heart (the third act obliterated me, but in the best possible way!), I was wholly invested in Lila De’s journey as well as the second-chance romance narrative and also love triangle at the heart of the story. But ultimately, the true love story here is the sometimes torturous, but also transcendent love story between Lila and her family. Prepare to become obsessed!!
October 8, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up.
This is a typical generational/family book filled with lies and secrets. The author's analogies are quite descriptive and lyrical, even poetic at times. However, sometimes, they are just a tad too much.
The main character, Lila, seems to have split personality disorder. One minute, I feel I should be totally on her side, and I love her. The next, she seems to have a personality turnaround, and I dislike her immensely. She also cannot seem to get over her feelings of dislike/hatred for her mother. However, her mother seems to have the same sort of disorder that Lila has. The author does a great job dealing with all the different types of hate throughout this novel. But it does get a bit depressing at times.
Several storylines were unnecessary to advance the plot, in my opinion. We didn't really need romantic interests when this was a novel about family. We also didn't need the death of a family member, and I thought it was a little too much, but because of who it was, I can see why it was necessary. I would have liked to see a little more of Lila deciding what to do about the house and why she chose the path that she did.
I did find it interesting to learn about India, its different factions, and political parties. However, I had a difficult time with the language. Kindle can't seem to translate this form of Indian into English, so I feel like I missed out on a lot.
It was a very good read, and I would recommend it to those who want something different, educational, historical, and, at times, fiendish.
This ARC was supplied to me by the publisher Algonquin Books/Hachette Book Group, the author, and NetGalley.
This is a typical generational/family book filled with lies and secrets. The author's analogies are quite descriptive and lyrical, even poetic at times. However, sometimes, they are just a tad too much.
The main character, Lila, seems to have split personality disorder. One minute, I feel I should be totally on her side, and I love her. The next, she seems to have a personality turnaround, and I dislike her immensely. She also cannot seem to get over her feelings of dislike/hatred for her mother. However, her mother seems to have the same sort of disorder that Lila has. The author does a great job dealing with all the different types of hate throughout this novel. But it does get a bit depressing at times.
Several storylines were unnecessary to advance the plot, in my opinion. We didn't really need romantic interests when this was a novel about family. We also didn't need the death of a family member, and I thought it was a little too much, but because of who it was, I can see why it was necessary. I would have liked to see a little more of Lila deciding what to do about the house and why she chose the path that she did.
I did find it interesting to learn about India, its different factions, and political parties. However, I had a difficult time with the language. Kindle can't seem to translate this form of Indian into English, so I feel like I missed out on a lot.
It was a very good read, and I would recommend it to those who want something different, educational, historical, and, at times, fiendish.
This ARC was supplied to me by the publisher Algonquin Books/Hachette Book Group, the author, and NetGalley.
November 15, 2024
{3.5 stars}
Thanks Algonquin Books for the gifted copy. All opinions below are my own.
Lila is an editorial assistant living in New York with very little in the way of commitments until she receives a call that she has inherited her grandfather's Indian mansion upon his death. She is shocked as generations of her family including her mother currently live in the sprawling yet dilapidated estate. She flies home to India to find that the rest of the family is angry and planning to contest her ownership. What follows is 8 weeks of their lives with Lila reimmersing herself in her family member's problems which include domestic abuse (both physical and emotional), gambling and alcoholism. What was once a storied Indian noble family has fallen apart at the seams and she needs to decide what is the right thing to do for all of them.
I have to admit, there were a lot of unlikable characters in this one. That said, it felt like a very realistic family with complex dynamics and everyday struggles. I didn't like the way they treated each other for most of the story. I did enjoy the immersion in the culture as they gave us the family history and planned the family wedding. The ending sort of took a turn that I wasn't expecting and I'm still not sure was necessary but I get the message that messy families will always be messy.
Read this one if you liked The Museum of Failures or The Book of Everlasting Things.
Thanks Algonquin Books for the gifted copy. All opinions below are my own.
Lila is an editorial assistant living in New York with very little in the way of commitments until she receives a call that she has inherited her grandfather's Indian mansion upon his death. She is shocked as generations of her family including her mother currently live in the sprawling yet dilapidated estate. She flies home to India to find that the rest of the family is angry and planning to contest her ownership. What follows is 8 weeks of their lives with Lila reimmersing herself in her family member's problems which include domestic abuse (both physical and emotional), gambling and alcoholism. What was once a storied Indian noble family has fallen apart at the seams and she needs to decide what is the right thing to do for all of them.
I have to admit, there were a lot of unlikable characters in this one. That said, it felt like a very realistic family with complex dynamics and everyday struggles. I didn't like the way they treated each other for most of the story. I did enjoy the immersion in the culture as they gave us the family history and planned the family wedding. The ending sort of took a turn that I wasn't expecting and I'm still not sure was necessary but I get the message that messy families will always be messy.
Read this one if you liked The Museum of Failures or The Book of Everlasting Things.
February 8, 2025
Somehow I think if this was a shorter book (439 Kindle pages!), my rating would be higher. A lot is incapsulated in this story about Lila, who returns to India when she inherits her family's huge home. I'm glad I didn't read the Goodreads summary, because it gives away too much and also isn't quite accurate.
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