This is a hard book to review. I didn't really like it, but I enjoyed Clark's use of language. For this particular story line though, I felt that his style gave the book an emotional distance that ultimately lessened its impact on the reader. The tale is about a high school age couple in 1968, who decide to run away together to the wilderness of nearby Canada. I look forward to reading Clark's earlier psychological mysteries and see how their style holds up. ( )

This beautifully written novel tells the story of Emily and William. They fall in love and run away from home to a campsite in northern Minnesota. Their story ends in tragedy. But, the sweetness of their love, and the intensity of their feelings is powerfully told by the author. The story takes place during 1968 and references the death of Bobby Kennedy and the violence at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. Emily's parents and William's mother also figure in this thoughtful novel. ( )

The entire time I was reading this book, I kept wondering why I'd picked it up. I have a huge to be read pile and everything in it is there because it's either on the Syllabus of a writer / professor I admire, because it's by a favorite writer of mine or it was recommended by a friend. I knew this fell into none of those categories. It turns out I'd actually ordered the wrong book.

Luckily for me it ended up being a bit of a treat.

Love Among the Ruins begins the day Robert Kennedy was shot and ends the day Nixon was inaugurated. For the most part it is the story of high school lovers, Emily and William. Emily is a bit shy and a good sweater-wearing Catholic girl. William is the son of a politically active single mother. When William becomes terrified of being drafted, he convinces Emily to run away with him. They pack up Williams camping gear and set off for a local island.

The writing is very melancholy and romantic, without being trite or sentimental. This ends up being a very dark and politically charged book, which I was not expecting. All in all, it was a pleasant surprise and I'm glad I made the mistake, because I never would have discovered it otherwise.

I gave it 3/5 because the writing is a pretty simplistic. I think it accomplishes everything it sets out to, but the characters are occasionally a bit one dimensional and their motives are a bit too neat and orderly. The focus was clearly on telling the story and not the prose style, though there were enough problems with the plot that I couldn't completely forgive the lack of depth of characters.

In summation : I would recommend this to a person who wanted an easy, yet emotionally charged read. ( )

It's been quite a while since I've read a novel that packs the kind of emotional punch that Clark's book delivers. Deeply affecting and beautifully and eloquently crafted, this book will simply knock you on your ass. Both as a moving story of young love and innocence lost, and as a portrait of the sixties, this book succeeds admirably. William and Emily will stay with you long after you've finished this book. I wondered if "Emily Elizabeth" Byrne was purposely named, but then decided, well, hell, of course she was. Because references to Emily Dickinson and Elizabeth Barrett Browning (and her lover, Robert B) abound here, foreshadowing the tragic turn this story of young love takes, perhaps inevitably. Indeed, the title of Clark's book comes from a Browning poem. It is perhaps important to note that the year of the book's setting, 1968, was the year after the famous "summer of love." In fact because of the violence of the protests and riots of the Chicago Democratic convention, it was even called the "time of rage." The parents of the ill-starred lovers also get their due, in portraits every bit as finely drawn. I loved this book; didn't want it to end. I found the book in a discount bookstore remainder bin. What a tragedy. It is an absolutely beautiful book. Bravo, Robert Clark. I will have to look for your other (probably equally neglected) books. ( )