{"product_id":"the-ruined-house-a-novel-isbn-9780062467485","title":"The Ruined House: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"A Masterpiece.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e (editor's choice) \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“In \u003cem\u003eThe Ruined House\u003c\/em\u003e a ‘small harmless modicum of vanity’ turns into an apocalyptic bonfire.  Shot through with humor and mystery and insight, Ruby Namdar's wonderful first novel examines how the real and the unreal merge.  It's a daring study of madness, masculinity, myth-making and the human fragility that emerges in the mix.\"\u003cstrong\u003e—Colum McCann, National Book Award-winning author of \u003cem\u003eLet the Great World Spin\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of the Sapir Prize, Israel’s highest literary award\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePicking up the mantle of legendary authors such as Saul Bellow and Philip Roth, an exquisite literary talent makes his debut with a nuanced and provocative tale of materialism, tradition, faith, and the search for meaning in contemporary American life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAndrew P. Cohen, a professor of comparative culture at New York University, is at the zenith of his life. Adored by his classes and published in prestigious literary magazines, he is about to receive a coveted promotion—the crowning achievement of an enviable career. He is on excellent terms with Linda, his ex-wife, and his two grown children admire and adore him. His girlfriend, Ann Lee, a former student half his age, offers lively companionship. A man of elevated taste, education, and culture, he is a model of urbanity and success. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the manicured surface of his world begins to crack when he is visited by a series of strange and inexplicable visions involving an ancient religious ritual that will upend his comfortable life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeautiful, mesmerizing, and unsettling, \u003cem\u003eThe Ruined House\u003c\/em\u003e unfolds over the course of one year, as Andrew’s world unravels and he is forced to question all his beliefs. Ruby Namdar’s brilliant novel embraces the themes of the American Jewish literary canon as it captures the privilege and pedantry of New York intellectual life in the opening years of the twenty-first century. \u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eThe winner of the Sapir Prize, Israel’s highest literary award, Ruby Namdar’s \u003cem\u003eThe Ruined House\u003c\/em\u003e follows Andrew P. Cohen, a professor of comparative culture at New York University, who is at the zenith of his life. Admired by his students and published in prestigious literary magazines, he is about to receive a coveted promotion—the crowning achievement of an enviable career. He is on excellent terms with Linda, his ex-wife, and his two daughters adore him. His girlfriend, Ann Lee, a former student half his age, offers lively companionship. A man of elevated taste, education, and culture, he is a model of urbanity and success.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the manicured surface of his world begins to crack when strange and inexplicable visions involving an ancient religious ritual take hold of his mind and upend his seemingly serene existence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInterspersed throughout the novel are pages from an ancient Talmudic text, harking back to the imagined golden age of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Hidden in the small letters of this frenzied, semiopaque “other” narrative lies the mysterious key to understanding the drama of Andrew’s life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMesmerizing and unsettling, \u003cem\u003eThe Ruined House\u003c\/em\u003e unfolds over the course of one year, as Andrew’s world unravels and he is forced to question all his beliefs.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Above all, \u003cem\u003eThe Ruined House\u003c\/em\u003e is a keenly observed meditation on the failing inner resources of American Jewry at the dawn of the 21st century.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMosaic Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“With richly poetic prose, Ruby Namdar portrays a man who leads a successful, comfortable secular life—until he finds himself haunted by religious visions. \u003cem\u003eThe Ruined House\u003c\/em\u003e is shocking, insightful, and deeply disturbing.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLauren Belfer, New York Times bestselling author of And After the Fire, recipient of the National Jewish Book Award\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ambitious, multidimensional, and beautifully written.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Exhilarating..a masterpiece of modern religious literature, exactly as deep, disturbing and unresolved as is necessary to remind us, habituated as we are to the shallows of contemporary Jewish life, what still lurks beneath — primitive, raw and exacting.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eThe Ruined House\u003c\/em\u003e, which won Israel’s biggest literary award (the Sapir Prize), is a fascinatingly claustrophobic year inside Andrew’s [the main character’s] mind…. A meditation on the isolation of the modern age, when one can live among millions of people in a vibrant city, yet still be utterly alone.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A wildly original novel about the mental, physical and spiritual undoing of an arrogant college professor—a secular Jew living in elitist New York on the eve of 9\/11. Unsettling and beautifully written, Namdar captures the seduction of an ancient religion as the world begins to crack.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNewsweek, The 50 Coolest Books to Read This Summer: 2018's Best Fiction and Non-Fiction (So Far)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Namdar’s artistic prose is imprinted on every page as he explores age-old recurring themes: sin, expiation, ruin and renewal. “The Ruined House” should not be read casually because the story presents thought-provoking perspectives of time-honored traditions and their place in today’s world.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Philadelphia Jewish Voice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Namdar’s excellent writing (for which Halkin must also be recognized), acute observational commentary, and fluency in Jewish religious texts make this novel a towering achievement of contemporary Jewish literature.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJewish Book Council\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Namdar may have written the Jewish- American novel for our time. It’s both disturbing and hypnotic, definitely one of the best novels of the year.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJewish Herald-Voice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Beautifully written and will absorb all your attention in first few minutes as you start reading it.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Book Review, Best Books of the Fall\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In \u003cem\u003eThe Ruined House\u003c\/em\u003e a ‘small harmless modicum of vanity’ turns into an apocalyptic bonfire. Shot through with humor and mystery and insight, Ruby Namdar’s wonderful first novel examines how the real and the unreal merge. It’s a daring study of madness, masculinity, myth-making and the human fragility that emerges in the mix.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eColum McCann, National Book Award-winning author of Let the Great World Spin\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Namdar redefines what it means to tell a Jewish story... The originality and power of this idea [of Jewishness], along with Namdar’s fertile power of observation and evocation, make \u003cem\u003eThe Ruined House\u003c\/em\u003e a new kind of Jewish novel, which everyone interested in Jewish literature should read.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAdam Kirsch, Tablet Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Poetic...ambitious…a novel to be reread, for its layers of meaning and symbolism, noise and silence, mystical resonances and lyrical passages. [Namdar’s] writing, in its deep and close observations, is prayerful.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSandee Brawarsky, Jewish Week\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Artfully translated ...An imaginative and visionary work about one man’s spectacular mid-life crisis, framed by sacred texts and filled with poetic and portentous passages. Reminiscent of the work of Nicole Krauss.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eThe Ruined House\u003c\/em\u003e is a fascinating novel about the overwhelming presence of myth and historical trauma in our lives. A cross between Saul Bellow’s disintegrating intellectuals and Bulgakov’s mystical revelations, this is a fiercely inventive novel.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmos Oz\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Beautifully written and will absorb all your attention in first few minutes as you start reading it.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888417927397,"sku":"NP9780062467485","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062467485.jpg?v=1730229046","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-ruined-house-a-novel-isbn-9780062467485","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}