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Ruin
A little girl who disguises herself as an old man, an addict who collects dollhouse furniture, a crime reporter confronted by a talking dog, a painter trying to prove the non-existence of god, lovers in a penal colony who communicate through technical drawings—these are just a few of the characters who live among the ruins. Cara Hoffman’s stories are brutal, surreal, hilarious, and transgressive, celebrating the sharp beauty of outsiders and the endlessly creative ways humans muster psychic resistance under oppressive conditions. Both bracingly timely and eerily timeless in its examination of an American state in free fall, RUIN (April 5, 2022) is unsparing in its disregard for broken, ineffectual institutions while shining with compassion for the damaged left in their wake. The ultimate effect of these interconnected stories is one of invigoration and a sense of possibilities—hope for a new world extracted from the rubble of the old.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published April 5, 2022
About the author
Cara Hoffman
27 books223 followersHOFFMAN is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Running, So Much Pretty and Be Safe I Love You. She has written for the New York Times, Marie Claire, Salon, and National Public Radio, and is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including a Folio Prize nomination, and a Sundance Institute Global Filmmaking Award.
She has been a visiting writer at Columbia, St. John’s and University of Oxford.
She currently lives in Manhattan.
She has been a visiting writer at Columbia, St. John’s and University of Oxford.
She currently lives in Manhattan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
November 15, 2021
The stories in this collection are spellbinding—if you’ve lost faith in the short story, you’ll find it again here.
October 25, 2024
4.5. As others have said, this is the kind of collection that will restore your faith in the short - often very short - story, with parables and slices of life under patriarchy, militarism, and capitalism, with some nice NYC millennial ennui as a side dish. A very good read on a craft and inspiration level that also kept me entertained.
November 22, 2021
This collection of stories delighted me with their uniqueness - none were predicatable. Many of them took me right back to my teenage years despite being written from standpoints unlike my own. It is a book I will savor again with pleasure as I continue to try to reduce the number of books I own; definitely a keeper.
June 1, 2022
Hoffman’s collection of ten short stories is surreal, disturbing, and brave. Many of the stories are apocalyptic and involve people trying to survive under oppressive conditions. Yet there is humor. “Childhood,” a story about a little girl who disguises herself as an old man, begins with my new favorite first line in a short story: “It was my childhood dream to become either an alcoholic or a very old man.” Hoffman’s sentences are precise, keen, and sharp. Annia Ciezadlo likens Hoffman’s writing to Shirley Jackson and calls the stories gothic pastoral, which feels right.
January 24, 2023
I enjoyed this collection of stories.
April 26, 2022
Ruin is my first Hoffman experience, and my initial impression is that her stories are dreamy and ethereal. While a few of these stories break away from the feeling of fragility, there was not enough variety in tone for me to consider this a completely absorbing collection. While I enjoyed the unsaid, the subtle hints at bigger things, some stories were just too vague to be enjoyable.
However, there were some stories that really grabbed my attention. Childhood was especially funny, a story in which an 11-year-old girl begins a new life as an old man. Strike Anywhere was an engaging story of conflict, told from a child’s perspective.
The last two stories in Ruin really impressed me. DeChellis is about a woman returning to her hometown to help her uncle who has got into trouble for walking other peoples’ dogs. And the final story, They, is a vivid, gorgeously strange, Leonora Carrington-esque story about a renegade mouse.
The stories in Ruin to be appreciated, perhaps over multiple readings and interpretations.
However, there were some stories that really grabbed my attention. Childhood was especially funny, a story in which an 11-year-old girl begins a new life as an old man. Strike Anywhere was an engaging story of conflict, told from a child’s perspective.
The last two stories in Ruin really impressed me. DeChellis is about a woman returning to her hometown to help her uncle who has got into trouble for walking other peoples’ dogs. And the final story, They, is a vivid, gorgeously strange, Leonora Carrington-esque story about a renegade mouse.
The stories in Ruin to be appreciated, perhaps over multiple readings and interpretations.
April 23, 2024
Sometime around a decade ago, when I was living in Boulder and delivering parts for a living, I was rear ended and got concussed. I was slightly more confused than usual and things that would normally make sense, didn't make sense. It wasn't a good feeling. Reading this book brought me back to that place. It was written in English, but damned if I knew what the hell Hoffman was trying to say. There wasn't a single story that I can say I liked at all. I almost wish the book was longer, because than I would have probably given up about 50 pages in; but by the time I had reached that point I was already halfway done and felt like I had to finish.
I get that short stories are different, that they have to fit a lot into a short amount of space, and that they often end abruptly. That's fine, and definitely not the reason I didn't like this book. In fact, I can't really say why I didn't like it because I'm still so confused and angry that I had to spend a couple days of my ever-shortening life trying to read it.
If I get invited to a birthday party for someone I don't like, but I feel like I should go cause a bunch of my friends will be there, and everyone else is bringing a gift, I'd probably buy them this book.
On another note, this book was published by PM Press. I've been reading a big percentage of everything they publish for the past 17 years. This might be the first book of theirs that I straight up did not like.
I get that short stories are different, that they have to fit a lot into a short amount of space, and that they often end abruptly. That's fine, and definitely not the reason I didn't like this book. In fact, I can't really say why I didn't like it because I'm still so confused and angry that I had to spend a couple days of my ever-shortening life trying to read it.
If I get invited to a birthday party for someone I don't like, but I feel like I should go cause a bunch of my friends will be there, and everyone else is bringing a gift, I'd probably buy them this book.
On another note, this book was published by PM Press. I've been reading a big percentage of everything they publish for the past 17 years. This might be the first book of theirs that I straight up did not like.
November 17, 2021
A brilliant, surreal collection. Hoffman has a punk sensibility and a superb eye for everyday absurdity. These stories, in particular the title story, are just sublime.
January 8, 2023
Very cool short story collection
March 10, 2022
I didn’t really care for many of these short stories, unfortunately. They were a bit too ethereal for me. There were a couple really excellent ones included, however.
Want to Read
March 30, 2022I very much enjoyed the new book Ruin by Cara Hoffman, which is separated into three sections: the present (such as in “The Paragrapher” and “Dechellis”), the future (such as in”The Apiarist” and “Strike Anywhere”) and the metaphysical future (“They”).
Thus the book includes and contrasts two genres, contemporary realism and science fiction, which is an interesting way to make the point that if the grim present continues on the trajectory it seems headed, then we will end up in the even bleaker future depicted in the science fiction sections.
Nonetheless, the present day characters act against the world’s darker trends, exhibiting resistance and empathy, attitudes that also appear, but in a much attenuated way, in the more hemmed-in characters in the future. So, for instance, Flynn in “The Paragrapher,” who, by the way, appears to be a continuation of the rural reporter in Hoffman’s earlier novel So Much Pretty, locks herself in her car to achieve a time of isolation to deal with the anguish of seeing a murdered woman. In “Dechillis,” the narrator acts to defend her uncle during a court case, even though, if she hadn’t, she would have gotten his house. She refuses the blandishments of comfort and selfishness.
In the future, some of these same traits are found, though dimmed down by people’s existence in more coercive environments. In “The Apiarist,” the protagonist shows compassion for her fellow beekeeper and other detainees though her feelings can only be expressed in glances and sympathetic sharing of activities. In the child army barracks of “Strike Anywhere,” emotional attachment is expressed ingeniously (and sadly) with the only material available, gunpowder burned to trace a name.
Metaphysical stories like “They” are harder (for me) to decipher in that it’s difficult to determine if the characters are humans or human-like creatures. (I thought of the strange dolls Alba makes in Isalbel Allende’s House of the Spirits, which are “shapeless beings made of leftover scraps from the wool she used to knit for the poor. These creatures had no human traits, which made it easier to cradle them, rock them, bathe them.”) The character the mouse’s sister in “They” is stuck in a school with nonsensical rules and meaningless patriotic assemblies but she can still muster the empathy to care for a tortured fly and fights to understand her constrained world in her own way
To me this story is the darkest in the book in showing a last ditch effort by a being to hold onto some integrity in a system so irrational its seems incomprehensible even to its parrots.
But the other futures, military or penal, seem to say that, yes, even in these extreme situations, a fight for solidarity and compassion goes on. Moreover, even if this is the direction our socities are going, still in the present day, the lonely, upstanding voices of characters such as Flynn and the narrator of Dechillis offer hope, the hope that they become part of a chorus.
Thus the book includes and contrasts two genres, contemporary realism and science fiction, which is an interesting way to make the point that if the grim present continues on the trajectory it seems headed, then we will end up in the even bleaker future depicted in the science fiction sections.
Nonetheless, the present day characters act against the world’s darker trends, exhibiting resistance and empathy, attitudes that also appear, but in a much attenuated way, in the more hemmed-in characters in the future. So, for instance, Flynn in “The Paragrapher,” who, by the way, appears to be a continuation of the rural reporter in Hoffman’s earlier novel So Much Pretty, locks herself in her car to achieve a time of isolation to deal with the anguish of seeing a murdered woman. In “Dechillis,” the narrator acts to defend her uncle during a court case, even though, if she hadn’t, she would have gotten his house. She refuses the blandishments of comfort and selfishness.
In the future, some of these same traits are found, though dimmed down by people’s existence in more coercive environments. In “The Apiarist,” the protagonist shows compassion for her fellow beekeeper and other detainees though her feelings can only be expressed in glances and sympathetic sharing of activities. In the child army barracks of “Strike Anywhere,” emotional attachment is expressed ingeniously (and sadly) with the only material available, gunpowder burned to trace a name.
Metaphysical stories like “They” are harder (for me) to decipher in that it’s difficult to determine if the characters are humans or human-like creatures. (I thought of the strange dolls Alba makes in Isalbel Allende’s House of the Spirits, which are “shapeless beings made of leftover scraps from the wool she used to knit for the poor. These creatures had no human traits, which made it easier to cradle them, rock them, bathe them.”) The character the mouse’s sister in “They” is stuck in a school with nonsensical rules and meaningless patriotic assemblies but she can still muster the empathy to care for a tortured fly and fights to understand her constrained world in her own way
To me this story is the darkest in the book in showing a last ditch effort by a being to hold onto some integrity in a system so irrational its seems incomprehensible even to its parrots.
But the other futures, military or penal, seem to say that, yes, even in these extreme situations, a fight for solidarity and compassion goes on. Moreover, even if this is the direction our socities are going, still in the present day, the lonely, upstanding voices of characters such as Flynn and the narrator of Dechillis offer hope, the hope that they become part of a chorus.
July 21, 2022
Taking place in some unspecified post-apocalyptic near-present future. At their best, the stories have a poetry of dread and hope like "History Lesson," which condenses arresting imagery within its mere three-and-a-half pages: "No one anticipates how fast change happens. By the time the perimeter fences went up it just looked like more construction." This understatement through minor detail seizes one's thought and can't help but make you feel the present moment of climate catastrophe and democracies teetering towards Populist authoritarianism in the undertow of its words. There are a couple of dud pieces in the collection, which is true of most short story collections. But compared to the scintillating yet economic writing of "Ruin," " Waking," History Lesson," and Retouch/Switch," they are worth wading through to get to these gems.
August 10, 2022
it was aight. prolly more like a 3.5 but i am rounding up bc i really like cara hoffmans writing style - just found this collection a lil boring at times. v poetic but not a whole lot happening in most of the stories which is totally fine, just wasn't my mood at the time of reading !!
'i left you with your hand pressed against the glass.
i left you amid the noise of the terminal.
that first time - the rush of bare life - the ecstatic loneliness. like the world was going to tear right through me at last. you were the door in the dollhouse that led to the kingdom of the real.
you were the one. you were the only one.
if i could have left you forever i would.'
'i left you with your hand pressed against the glass.
i left you amid the noise of the terminal.
that first time - the rush of bare life - the ecstatic loneliness. like the world was going to tear right through me at last. you were the door in the dollhouse that led to the kingdom of the real.
you were the one. you were the only one.
if i could have left you forever i would.'
June 7, 2026
A slim set of dense (think tungsten or even depleted uranium), tight stories, usually packing quite an emotional wallop, with the subjects ranging from a kid waiting for his army dad, through a priory of mice, to a New York painter on a busy day. Not always what I read for, but I can appreciate the skill.
May 16, 2022
I'm not typically a huge fan of short stories and for the most part that is true of this collection as well. However I really enjoyed the story "Childhood", which is what I'm leaving this five-star review for. :)
December 16, 2022
I wish I could give this more than 5 stars. Hoffman is imaginative and brilliant. This collection absolutely transformed my view of short story fiction. I am astounded. I want to tell everyone I know about this book. All I want to do is talk about this book. I’m stunned.
Read
April 20, 2023Not all of the stories in here worked for me, but I loved the ones that did, and even the ones that didn't work did so in interesting ways. Extremely vibes based, more about giving you a picture of a character or characters and their situation than a full "story arc." I want more like this.
January 20, 2025
I like her writing but not the stories. I feel like they just weren't long enough to hold the breadth of what was happening in them. perhaps I'm just not bright enough, but I didn't understand things sometimes. Likely, just not my jam. I'll try her longer works.
October 30, 2026
Finished Ruin on my lunch breaks over two weeks, and it made my dull workday feel a little more interesting. Cara Hoffman writes short, punchy chapters that are easy to pick up and hard to put down. The ending fizzles, but for busy folks who read in bursts, it's a solid pick.
April 5, 2022
Wow - gritty, hard-edged, brilliant short stories. Not for the feint of heart, but so much to appreciate in the writing. I look forward to reading more.
April 6, 2022
Cara Hoffman is perhaps our best living fiction writer, and RUIN only further proves it. She has given all of herself in these stories; read between the lines and you'll find her beating heart.
May 6, 2022
The best: Waking, The Paragrapher, History Lesson, ReTouch/Switch, DeChellis.
The worst: Ruin, The Apiarist, Childhood, They.
The worst: Ruin, The Apiarist, Childhood, They.
July 11, 2022
An excellent collection of short stories. Hoffman has beautifully-crafted pose and great ideas. Full of mystery and beauty and violence. I'm looking forward to reading more from her!
May 24, 2023
Loved the story of the little girl/old man. This was my favorite
June 28, 2023
Equal parts brilliant and whatthehelldidIjustread? A little less of the latter, and this probably would have been a five from me. A great book, either way.
Read
August 12, 2023I loved “Childhood” which might make my top 5 favorite short stories. I did not understand “They” at all (and not sure I care to).
January 6, 2025
At times, Hoffman’s stories felt incomprehensible. But there were some gems in this collection. “Childhood” and “Strike Anywhere” were my two favourites.
March 18, 2025
I truly enjoyed being along for this ride.
These stories are all of absurd, disorientating, gritty, and poignant. Many times I had the sensation of having my feet grounded in harsh, grimy, violent reality, then being surprised by heady humor and a lightness that sent me floating.
The best part - completely selfishly - is that I found this book at the bottom of a dusty stack in one of my favorite used bookstores and went in completely blind with zero expectations. It was a great reminder of what independent publishers and small bookstores can do for us. I can’t wait to check out more lit by Ms. Hoffman. :)
These stories are all of absurd, disorientating, gritty, and poignant. Many times I had the sensation of having my feet grounded in harsh, grimy, violent reality, then being surprised by heady humor and a lightness that sent me floating.
The best part - completely selfishly - is that I found this book at the bottom of a dusty stack in one of my favorite used bookstores and went in completely blind with zero expectations. It was a great reminder of what independent publishers and small bookstores can do for us. I can’t wait to check out more lit by Ms. Hoffman. :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews