Jess Walter's novel is a witty, worldly comedy drama which captures the texture and flavor of celebrity, ambition, love & fantasy from the Liz/Dick Cleopatra launch mid-century in Italy to present day Hollywood, Edinborough, Portland & Seattle-- claims of fame, fortune and folly. Life stories. The twists & turns of outrageous fortune and every-day life. It reads like the inside scoop of a true story.

Edoardo Ballerini's performance is nothing less than phenomeal. Great with accents, nuances, tone of voice. Spot-on interpretation of the text. Funny, tender, ironic, genuine. His voice is perfect for a wide variety of characters. Thoroughly enjoyable! Could be a poster child for audio books.

I really enjoyed listening to this book. The story was good to excellent and the narration was excellent with just the right Italian accent. The only reason I gave it 4 stars overall is that the story was a little predictable in a few places. The characters were interesting and the way the author and narrator moved the listener between 1962 and today was well done. This was a very satisfying listen.

I loved the part where the listener gets to know Pasquale as he tries to improve his life by building a tennis court on a rocky cliff.

This narrator was able to quickly go from perfect English, without an accent, to speaking Italian to speaking English with an Italian accent. It gave each character his/her own voice. Very well done.

Richard Burton. What 60+ year old woman wouldn't want to have dinner with Sir Richard?

The story line was very intriguing but after 3/4 of the book it was lost and never came back around. The story ended with a fizzle and no satisfaction.

The narrator was excellent, with his Italian accent for his Italian lines he sounded very sexy and with the English lines he sounded like Alec Baldwin so it was a delight on the ears.

I do now know why people enjoy this book. I found the characters vapid, depressing, rutterless -and pointless. I almost gave up after a few chapters, but the story got interesting in Italy, but then (slight spoiler) you learn the son is a complete waste, and I just couldn't bear it anymore. Why would I want to spend my time on these people?

Unlikely.

I did enjoy listening to Pasqual and Dee while they were walking the cliffs and in the cave.

Pointlessness

When books rate this high, I am usually in the pack of readers who loved it. I also love historical fiction and learning about new places. This book was such a wasted opportunity.

It was so easy to get lost in to the story, so well put, and well done - I visited a whole new world when listening to Beautiful Ruins.

He did a wonderful job, I would say definitely a very fitting voice talent for this book.

I wouldn't.

Worth The Listen!

Simply stated this book is beautifully written, and it's wonderful descriptive style lends itself especially well to the audio format. The narration was perfect - I was drawn in by the narrator's voice, and listening was a joy. I loved it so much I want to own the actual book now!

Although at times the story moved a little slowly, it was always for a reason. I particularly like the use of "time travel" in a story, going back and forth seems to allow a special perspective, a slow but meaningful story development that keeps the reader's mind engaged and wondering about the next step in the story.

A lovely story, beautifully narrated - I just don't think you can go wrong with this one. I raved about it to friends before I was even finished listening.

This is a great book to listen to. The reader is so good and the story is so well written that I feel like I was watching a movie rather than listening to a book. I love that. I didn't give it 5 stars because it wasn't the best book I have ever read BUT it was a great book and definitely worth the purchase.

I loved the setting! The way the author described the sea side village! I want to go there! Absolutely delightful!

Pasquale, both of them!

My favorite scene was when Pasquale and Dee were in the cave watching the light over the paintings!

No, I wanted to stretch it out as long as I could!

I loved this audiobook...I listened to it constantly while walking the dog or doing dishes. The plot overlapping with various time frames was riveting and I felt truly invested in finding out what happened to the characters. Would even listen to it again....

This was an engaging and beautifully written story. Not only is Jess Walter a brilliant writer, he obviously does excellent research which flows effortless thorughout the plot.