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Sara

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Sara is currently reading

The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays

by Albert Camus

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Dec 03, 2025 11:39AM

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The Ruins

by Scott Smith

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in December 2013

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Sara said: " I loved this book. I hardly ever rate books with five stars, but this is easily one of, if not THE, best horror novels I have ever read. Scott Smith is a genius.

I saw the movie before reading the book, and I wish I hadn't; I would have liked to be mo I loved this book. I hardly ever rate books with five stars, but this is easily one of, if not THE, best horror novels I have ever read. Scott Smith is a genius.

I saw the movie before reading the book, and I wish I hadn't; I would have liked to be more surprised about what was going to happen. Luckily I saw the film some years ago and don't remember a whole lot about it. One of the book's biggest strengths, in my opinion, is how well written Smith's characters are. You really get the feeling that you know them; it's effortless to imagine them as people in your real life. Even if you find the premise ridiculous, and you feel like you know what's coming, you still find yourself mourning when it does.

The book isn't divided into chapters, which I found odd at first but then decided was an excellent technique in this case; the lack of breaks makes the situation feel even more inescapable. I felt like the narration was nice, excluding the mild editorial problems; some of the descriptive passages felt so real I was a little traumatized, but impressed. I also found the language barrier issues interesting; the inclusion of a main character that's incapable of communicating with anyone else and is thrust into an unimaginable predicament forced me to feel more empathy for that individual while conversely making me occasionally forget him. To me, the truly horrific element of this novel wasn't necessarily the "big bad thing" but the disturbingly human reactions from the victimized group. The psychology of it all was fascinating, but troubling in its familiarity.

I imagine that there are probably readers that will find both the "big bad thing" ridiculous and the ending disappointing. I personally was not one of them; at first, the antagonist that plagues the characters did seem a little too unbelievable, but its maliciousness is so complete I forgot all about that aspect. I think the ending was perfect. I can't praise this book enough. If you like horror, this is definitely a must-read. ...more "

Dec 06, 2013 11:19AM · see review