Picking up the mantle of legendary authors such as Saul Bellow and Phillip 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

Andrew P. Cohen, a professor of comparative culture at New York University, is at the zenith of his life. Adored by his classes, published in prestigious literary magazines, he is about to receive a coveted promotion—the crowning achievement of an envious 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.

But 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.

Beautiful, mesmerizing, and unsettling, The Ruined House unfolds over the course of one year, as Andrew’s world unravels and he is forced to question all of 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.