August 2018 - Group Read #1 - The Ruins

[L. Smashing]

I finished. I'm not quite sure how I feel. Maybe because I saw the movie years ago and knew how it was going to end it didn't scare me as much as some people suggested it would? It was definitely creepy and super heavy on character exposition and development. But I guess I just feel kinda "meh" about it. :\

[Opal]

Wow, many of you are already finished/halfway done. I got this a couple days ago and just started, lol. I'm only on page 80, but I am pleasantly surprised that the characters are being developed. For some reason, I wasn't expecting it. Also, I am getting some Lovecraftian vibes, though it might be wishful thinking. I feel bad for all of them, because I get the feeling none of them will survive...

[Don]

M.E. wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "Marie-Helene wrote: "What is your opinion? The Mayan villagers, they do not speak Spanish or they do not want to speak Spanish? Don't you think they should know a few words of Spani..."

I am sure they speak Spanish, but by showing any type of understanding would open the door (maybe only a sliver) to communication. If they start communicating with those trapped they might feel for them and then it might be a bit harder to do their jobs.
I think they warn them enough to say they tried but not enough to send them fleeing to the authorities.

[Marie Helene]

Good thinking Don.

[Alan]

Part of the whole creepiness and the sense of impending doom was the fact that these villagers didn't speak Spanish, they only spoke an antiquated local dialect. I guarantee that there are isolated people in Brazil who understand Portuguese but not Spanish, except maybe for some words that are very similar in both languages.

[Marie Helene]

I love this book, I cannot put it down.

My new mantra: the Greeks will come... (or won't they 😱 ?)

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Jamie wrote: "Although I really liked this book, I'm going to say this is one of those cases when I enjoyed the movie more than the book. I think because it was shorter, not as repetitive, and at least some of t..."

I agree. I thought the book dragged for long stretches and it seemed obvious how it was going to turn out. I was surprised to enjoy the movie so much.

[Melanie]

Marie-Helene wrote: "I love this book, I cannot put it down.

My new mantra: the Greeks will come... (or won't they 😱 ?)"

Lol
Winter is coming
The Greeks are coming.

[M.E.]

Melanie wrote: "
Winter is coming
The Greeks are coming."

LOL 😆😂🤣

[Justin]

This was my first group read (this is also my first post) and I really enjoyed it. I finished the boom within a week, which is unusual for me.

I may have enjoyed the book more than others as I haven't seen the movie, yet.

[Marie Helene]

Justin wrote: "This was my first group read (this is also my first post) and I really enjoyed it. I finished the boom within a week, which is unusual for me.

I may have enjoyed the book more than others as I ha..."

Well, I am glued to the book and enjoying it.

I saw the movie a few years ago. IMO the book and the movie are very different but both equally good.

[Andrew]

I read the book years ago in one setting and loved it. I also enjoyed the movie version. Impending doom was prevalent in both. I wish Scott Smith would write more.

[Carmilla]

I am about to start reading The Ruins tonight. I look forward to discussing it with other members.

[Marie Helene]

Carmilla wrote: "I am about to start reading The Ruins tonight. I look forward to discussing it with other members."

Welcome to the group read Carmilla 😀

[Marie Helene]

P. 265: there was a 'vote'.

Am I the only one to think that Jeff is (view spoiler)[ ... let's say, weird? The way he has planned everything about amputating the Greek? And the mercy killing as plan B? Basically, whatever the result of the vote, Jeff will be the 'winner'. (hide spoiler)]

[Melanie]

Marie-Helene wrote: "P. 265: there was a 'vote'.

Am I the only one to think that Jeff is [spoilers removed]"

Yeah. Jeff's a twat.

[Opal]

I thought it was really funny how Jeff kept acting "proud" of the vine the more he learned about it. Like...dude.

[[deleted user]]

I just finished the book. I really liked it. I found it totally creepy and felt a little woozy in parts. I watched the movie years ago but the book is quite different.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

I liked it, too, but the words that comes to mind are icky, ewwwww, oh god, fricking hell, are you kidding me, crap, enough, is it over yet, no way, they aren’t getting out of this....etc.

[Marie Helene]

p 406 to 418
Oops, Jeff did it again (view spoiler)[ After Amy's death, it takes a few tears and not a very long time before he says to the others that survival cannibalism is an option to be considered 😤 (hide spoiler)]

[Ami]

Ok, just now getting a late start on the book! 68 pages in so far. They just found the entrance to a hidden trail. So far, everything sounds like a pretty terrible idea.... there is no way I could have been convinced by anyone to just go wonder around the jungle with only a hand drawn map and no guide. Hellllllll no.

[Anne (w/ an E)]

Finished this last night. I really liked it, even though the last few pages were predictable.

[Josen]

M.E. wrote: "Just in case anyone else is interested...

The location described in the book is actually pretty plausible in the real world. There is even a dirt road that runs off of the main road they would hav..."

Oh wow this is great! I like to do the same when I can look up areas or landmarks. I'm going to start this book tonight.

[Marie Helene]

Just finished it, and liked it very much.

[Carmilla]

I finished this book a few days ago. It's amazing. I'm going to write a few things behind the spoiler tag and a longer review later.

(view spoiler)[It was a very intense read. The use of language barriers as a horror device worked on many levels for me. I noted the question asked above about how likely it was that the Mayans spoke no Spanish. It reminds me of a Che Guevara story about language confusion (it was Bolivia) but the indigenous population didn't speak Spanish there and that caused problems for organising them. The way the group contained a multitude of languages and the isolation that caused between them really added to the horror. I was comfortable believing that the Mayans didn't speak enough Spanish to communicate, but I also wondered how complicit they might be in feeding the vines. I liked the fact that we don't know the truth even at the end. The sly intelligence of the vines and the sociopathic coldness of Jeff were terrifying. Also I loved the way Smith goes through the stages of denial, grief and despair with each of the characters in the book. (hide spoiler)]

[Mike]

I'm behind on my reading this month, but I finally got started on The Ruins a couple of days ago.

It's starting to kick into gear now. Before the 50ish page mark, I was having trouble staying interested. Now I'm super excited to read more.

[Don]

I finished this last night, it has a crazy finish. I'm glad this was the chosen read for this month.

[L. Smashing]

Carmilla wrote: "I finished this book a few days ago. It's amazing. I'm going to write a few things behind the spoiler tag and a longer review later.

[spoilers removed]"

Carmilla, about your feelings of Jeff... (view spoiler)[I didn't see him being socipathic at all! He was actually my favorite character. He was the only one that seemed even remotely prepared to survive. It's mentioned that he's an Eagle Scout, so all of that training has helped him keep a cool head. He wasn't freaking out so much because he was trained in the Boy Scouts to find any way to survive and keep the group alive. Also, he was planning on being a doctor. I'm not that sure what kind of schooling you need before you go to med school, but he's the type of guy you'd want to be a doctor. He keeps calm. Jeff was willing to do whatever it took to keep them alive. He felt that cutting off Pablo's legs would help him live longer, and I believed him. He knew that eventually they would need food other than their snacks and that's why he suggested eating Amy. It's not that he didn't care about Amy, he did, he loved her, but he had the ability to see that a body is no longer a person (not that agree or anything), that in the end, we're just body sacks of meat and fat and bone.

Stacy was not willing to eat Amy because that was her best friend, even though she was dead. If the vines didn't eat Amy, and Stacy was left starving, would you consider it unfortunate that she didn't eat her friend to survive and ended up dying? Or would you say "she did what she had to" if she did eat Amy? For Jeff, there wasn't a question. He knew that the only way to survive was to start snacking on his dead girlfriend. Unfortunately for them, it was not to be.

I'm not attacking. I say "you" as a general, all encompassing.
I just think that Jeff was the leader and sometimes the leader has to do things that no one else is able to do. (hide spoiler)]

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

I agree, Laura, with your comments.

[Anne (w/ an E)]

Laura wrote: "Carmilla wrote: "I finished this book a few days ago. It's amazing. I'm going to write a few things behind the spoiler tag and a longer review later.

[spoilers removed]"

Carmilla, about your fee..."

I also agree with you, Laura.

[M.E.]

I agree, (view spoiler)[Jeff was the only truly proactive member of the group. Everyone but Jeff and, to a lesser extent, Mathias just played the helpless victim. And Mathias mostly only contributed to group survival when some one else suggested a course of action he could help with. Oh, I take that back. “Pablo” was proactive too. It just didn’t last long.

The one thing that gets me about Jeff is that he ran through the rain rather than the more obvious choice of belly crawling to stay out of sight. Of course that probably wouldn’t have helped in the long run, but it would have made more sense to me. (hide spoiler)]

[Bianca]

I’ll admit, this story started a little slow, but it had a very grim yet fascinating concept that might stick with you.

[Carmilla]

Carmilla, about your fee..."

Laura, I'm going to think about this some more and look for examples within the text, because I think this is fascinating. Can one be an effective leader and retain their humanity in a horrific situation? I'll get back to you and look forward to more discussions.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

This conversation about Jeff reminds me of the situations the character Admiral Adama (actor Edward James Olmos) in 'Battlestar Galactica' faced (view spoiler)[and how he had a tough front for the public which was also a real toughness underneath. After a life-and-death decision he accepted he had made the decision knowing it might have been wrong. Later, he sometimes, but not often, mourned and second-guessed and regretted the necessity of sacrificing people.

I think Adama believed he alone could make these decisions because 1. Most people refuse to take the responsibility of choosing life-and-death for others and it had to be done by someone; and 2. Most people cannot think three-dimensionally in a crisis; 3. He alone had the legitimacy of his office - the top military leader. Jeff, maybe because of his temperament, was the one pushed into calling the shots because someone had to step forward to try to deal with the obvious life-threatening problems. (hide spoiler)]

[Jamesboggie]

I hope to start this coming week.

[Sarah]

I'm almost halfway through.

I think it's interesting how there are layers of language barriers with the Mayans and the Greeks. It seems to symbolize the un-knowing throughout the entire story.

[Ctgt]

Late to the party...started yesterday. Pretty good so far but it seems as though I've reached the part some of you were commenting about......lots of introspection. But that hasn't derailed me yet.

Can't say that I'm a big fan of any of the characters yet.

[Marie Helene]

Welcome to the party. I was not a big fan of any of the characters too, but at the end (view spoiler)[ they were all in such a desperate situation that some empathy developed, and I took a liking to gentle Mathias. (hide spoiler)]

[Mike]

I've got about 30 pages left. I'm enjoying this enough to finish it, but it's taking me forever to get through for some reason. I guess 'cause it feels like just watching the characters die slowly.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

Mike wrote: "... 'cause it feels like just watching the characters die slowly."

Yep.

[L. Smashing]

aPriL does feral sometimes wrote: "Mike wrote: "... 'cause it feels like just watching the characters die slowly."

Yep."
April-- (view spoiler)[ way to spoil it! lol (hide spoiler)]

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

: P

Oops.

[Marie Helene]

Yep ... aPril ... oops ... did it

[Alondra]

I read this back in 2017. I just thought it was alright, but ending up giving it 3.5 Stars because I laughed so much.

(view spoiler)[ 3.5 stars.

I am finally posting this review. I think my thoughts as I read this book, sums it up best, besides, my own comments made me laugh out loud... hehehhe. beware the spoiler... :O

[

Rule 1: Don't go outside the tourist area when traveling abroad!! i.e.; Hostel.
Rule 2: Don't befriend someone who doesn't ask enough questions; going with the flow gets your ass in trouble!!"
Rule 3: Do not go down a bottomless pit with a flimsy rope.
Rule 4: Refer to rule 3
Rule 5: Do not have intimate relations when you don't know if you will live or die in the next 24 hours.
Rule 6: If someone says, "Don't go there, it is evil!" You know what? Don't go."
Rule 7: When attempting to conserve urine for later use; do not mix your neighbors urine with your own. Keep some dignity while waiting to die. Drink your own..."
Rule 8: to amp or not to amp, that is the question. NOT!"
Rule 9: Don't vomit near a vomit-sucking, flesh eating plant... ever." (hide spoiler)]

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

Alondra wrote: "I read this back in 2017. I just thought it was alright, but ending up giving it 3.5 Stars because I laughed so much.

3.5 stars.

I am finally posting this review. I think my thoughts as I read ..."

Ruin[ed] minds do think alike!

[Alondra]

aPriL does feral sometimes wrote: "Alondra wrote: "I read this back in 2017. I just thought it was alright, but ending up giving it 3.5 Stars because I laughed so much.

3.5 stars.

I am finally posting this review. I think my tho..."

teehehehhehe..... Those were my exact post updates, as I read the book. I felt like, where is the common sense.... ?

Alas.... common sense is not so common anymore. o_O

[Kimberly]

Alondra wrote: "I read this back in 2017. I just thought it was alright, but ending up giving it 3.5 Stars because I laughed so much.

3.5 stars.

I am finally posting this review. I think my thoughts as I read ..."
Your comment made me laugh so hard!!! Great rules to follow!

[Melanie]

Alondra wrote: "I read this back in 2017. I just thought it was alright, but ending up giving it 3.5 Stars because I laughed so much.

3.5 stars.

I am finally posting this review. I think my thoughts as I read ..."

Perfect summation of the book :)

[Nancy]

Melanie wrote: "Alondra wrote: "I read this back in 2017. I just thought it was alright, but ending up giving it 3.5 Stars because I laughed so much.

3.5 stars.

I am finally posting this review. I think my tho..."

I was starting to feel like the only one.

[David]

I found it to be an interesting story, but frankly I would have been glad to kill off all of the characters myself. I kind of liked the German guy though.