Beautiful Ruins

By: Jess Walter

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Fiction and Best Solo Narration, 2013

The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying.

And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot - searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier.

What unfolds is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning 50 years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist, and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion - along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow.

Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.

©2012 Jess Walter (P)2012 HarperCollins Publisher

Beautifully done

I picked this book for the mere mention of Italy and my nostalgia for all things Italian. I was taken so far past that to nostalgia for things I didn't even realized I missed. I love love love this book, that looks back kindly (but honestly) on a time period I think we all regard as magic.

Jax

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The story started slow. But then I was hooked. I loved it

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

How awesome to have a story line in Italy read by some one with an Italian type accent.

...Best Book Since "The Help"?

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No I don't think I would. While I really enjoyed Edoardo Barrerini's performance the story really left a lot to be desired for me. By the end of the novel I didn't feel any connection to the characters and I didn't really care how it ended. Also parts (I don't wish to spoil anything for anyone) surrounding some of the "Hollywood" elements really seemed farfetched. This book defiantly has, and will have, people who enjoy it, however for me the title "Best Book Since "The Help" is not deserving and I would caution others about making a decision based on that statement as I did.

What was most disappointing about Jess Walter’s story?

I just didn't enjoy the characters or the plot line - I never found a connection, and I was never rushing home from work to listen like I have for other audio books.

Any additional comments?

Every book appeals to different people, this one just wasn't for me.

Beautiful Ruins - Jess Walter

What made the experience of listening to Beautiful Ruins the most enjoyable?

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.

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

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

If you could rename Beautiful Ruins, what would you call it?

I wouldn't.

Any additional comments?

Worth The Listen!

A very enjoyable Book!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

A lovely story spanning the ages and continents. Swept me into their world. Would recommend highly.

Have you listened to any of Edoardo Ballerini’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I thoroughly enjoyed Edoardo Ballerini's performance. He musical voice nailed all the characters and I couldn't wait to get back to the story. I will listen to him again.

Beautifully told story

The narration was terrific. This is the perfect summer listen. A beautiful love story.

Pay attention to the story line

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Depends on the friend. Would have to be someone who enjoys the superficial of persons and doesn't get annoyed by selfishness.

Which character – as performed by Edoardo Ballerini – was your favorite?

Dee

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. At times it was gripping. But whent he end rolled around I was left disappointed.

Any additional comments?

Probably a few too many characters. The richness of some was lost in the lack of exploration of others.

A lovely, slow-paced read.

What did you love best about Beautiful Ruins?

The performance of the reader is amazing. He did a great job with all of the accents and even the voices, and made it very easy to listen to. I also love all the descriptive details about the Italian coast. It sounds gorgeous and made me want to go and visit!

What did you like best about this story?

I loved it flipping back and forth in time, place, and between people. It kept me in absolute suspense just waiting for the moment when they would all come together and to see how everything and everyone fit together! It was a major page-turner! I also loved that it centered a little on true events - Richard Burton and Liz Taylor filming Cleopatra in Rome. It made it that much more real.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Pascuale confronts Michael Deen at the hollywood studio office...that seems to be when a lot of questions are answered and kept me absolutely on the edge of my seat.

Who was the most memorable character of Beautiful Ruins and why?

I love Pascuale. He is so tender-hearted, loves his family, wants to do the right thing always, and to me, he was the glue that held everything together throughout the whole story.

Any additional comments?

You will not regret downloading this title. It is a beautiful story.

Good story; great narration

Would you consider the audio edition of Beautiful Ruins to be better than the print version?

I really enjoyed Edoardo Ballerini's voice. It was inherently expressive and likeable, and really pulled me in.

Walter's best yet

I haven't been a fan of Jess Walter's sarcastic, too-clever writing style, but after reading reviews I gave this a try. Definitely his best work yet! Fascinating characters and storyline, and Walters uses the alternating past-present storyline to good effect.

The narrator does a fine job with one really irritating exception: toward the end of the book he mispronounces almost EVERY place name in the author's own home town (and mine). Really?!! Couldn't someone have consulted the author or checked this, seeing as its where the whole story comes together?