A God in Ruins

Teddy is regarded as secretive and mysterious because he does not revel in telling war stories. He does have legitimate secrets, however, such as the affair with Julia, which he never reveals to Nancy. Nancy is faithful to Teddy, but she keeps her cancer a secret from him for weeks while he worries that she is having an affair. 

After killing Nancy, Teddy is shown confiding in Dr. Webster only. Viola witnesses the killing but keeps that a secret, choosing instead to treat her father with disdain and contempt. Until he moves to Bali, Sunny is miserable to the point of committing suicide but keeps the depths of his despair to himself. Even early in the novel, Hugh and Sylvie are tempted by other lovers, although there is no sign that either of them is ever suspicious or aware of the other’s near-indiscretions. 

During Viola’s brief conversations with Gregory, her therapist, a life without shame is presented as a life without secrets. However, not all of the characters who have secrets experience them as shame. 

A God in Ruins does not proceed chronologically. It jumps back and forth in time and viewpoint, sometimes within the space of a couple of paragraphs. One character’s thoughts might lead to an interlude to the past that spans many pages before returning to the current thread. As the characters age, they remark, in various ways, that history—and a long life—eventually turn each person into something of an amnesiac. The more time in a life, the more experiences the person has lived, but it is also true that more years lived equals more memories lost, as the brain and mind age. 

Each chapter is set in a different year, giving the impression that the time in which each chapter takes place is significant. However, the importance of the dates matters less later in the characters’ lives, when the memories of the events fade or even disappear. 

Sunny’s view of time is unlike anyone else’s in the novel. As a Buddhist, he describes time and life—through the words of his teachers—as being one continuous breath, or one endless moment. His insistence that living in the present is the key to tranquility, peace, and acceptance, undercuts the linear notion of time, in the Buddhist teaching that “it is always now.” 

Time grants greater wisdom to certain characters, like Teddy and Nancy. It only prolongs the dissatisfaction of someone like Viola, who sees her life as an ever-lengthening series of events that victimize her and ensure that she remains unhappy. For Sunny, abolishing the notion of time in favor of an infinite, unbroken existence is what gives him comfort.