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 ambitious

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

The story was enjoyable and the made for a good audiobook. Despite jumps in location and time, I was able to follow along and everything was held together by strong narration. The story was a satisfying one. I especially enjoyed the parts of the novel that focused on Porta Vergogna.

Would you be willing to try another book from Jess Walter? Why or why not?

I might try something shorter by Walter to see how his storytelling develops.

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

Ballerini brought all of the characters to life in fantastic fashion. My favorite was Pasquale whose sincere and naive optimism Ballerini captured perfectly but even secondary characters like Richard Burton were given great narration.

Could you see Beautiful Ruins being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

The book certainly had a cinematic quality (probably because cinema plays such a large part in the storyline). It would certainly make an interesting movie that I would watch to compare with the novel.

Beautiful story; fantastic performance

Would you listen to Beautiful Ruins again? Why?

Yes. Edoardo Ballerini is brilliant throughout the entire book. He breathed life into a beautiful story. His accent was spot on and he made an excellent book even better!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Orencio. Great exchange early in the book between him and Pasquale. He is sprinkled throughout but I enjoyed how he was portrayed.

Which scene was your favorite?

The beginning of this book made me laugh out loud. The scene between Orencio and Pasquale is tremendous.

If you could take any character from Beautiful Ruins out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Pasquale though I would need a translator. Wonderful character with many different dimensions.

Any additional comments?

This is a beautiful book performed by an excellent actor. You will not regret your decision to purchase this audiobook.

THIS book!

Woooww... My mom recommended this book to me and i was skeptical initially. Our preferences usually differ in the types of genres we enoy but i was blow away with how masterfully written this book was. No matter one's genre preferences i feel like anyone could appreciate this book for the depth of the characters, the emotion, feeling and the resolution of everything is perfection. Such a beautifully told story with flawed, complex characters that dont make you hate them but arent impossibly perfect either, very relatable and real. I got completely lost in this book and am so glad i gave it a chance. Also idk if it even needs to be said that the narration was on point because Edoardo Ballerini always kills it but he did it again. Would def recommend to anyone whos on the fence...

Beautiful!

I’m so glad I listened to Edoardo Ballerini read this book. It added so much. It’s the perfect story.

very enjoyable listen

I decided to listen to this audiobook even though some of the reviews said it was hard to follow. I actually found it to be quite the opposite I enjoyed how the author wove together all the storyline into one big universe. I thought the way the narrator acted out all the voices really helped tie everything together. I thought that all the characters were well-developed and the story tied itself together nicely at the end. the scenery was the described beautifully and that also helps to place the characters within the story. the author also did a good job of describing each time period and made you feel as though you existed in that. for me, it wasn't deeply profound, but it was a beautifully told story with some very poignant characters. I recommend giving it a listen.

Give this a try

You had me at build a beach on the rocky Italian Coast!
Mammoth in scale but wrapped up brilliantly, Jess Walter takes on four stories and weaves and weaves wonderfully. Something totally different.

perfection

it was like having a very satisfying Thanksgiving banquet. this book was perfection in every way.
I'll let the storylines work interwoven and came to a satisfying conclusion.
This is a book I will likely listen to again

Beautifully written and the audio book was amazing

Great love story that intertwines through many peoples lives. Makes us look at all of our failures and shortcomings and makes us realize that we are all just human. It was so beautifully written and so beautifully performed, what I thought was just going to be a silly love story brought me to tears.

10/10/12

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

i did order the audio version and im so glad i did.. chapters were lengthly due to intertwining of characters and their stories. writer ties the tale up in a beautiful bow. eduardo di a great servce to the writers story,broken itlian was right on the money....have already recommended itto my brother and girlfriend.thanks for the tip in beutiful ruins i was very happy to read this book and iI loved the ending

What did you like best about this story?

everything especially the flow of storyline and the way every tale comes together int he end

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

no

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

no extream reaction just the flow of different emotions as the book progressed

Any additional comments?

if you read this book and didnt like it try the AUDIO version, if you read the book and did like it try the AUDIO version and fall in love with Beautiful Ruins again.

Wonderful

A little slow at the very beginning, but after that.... absolutely a great and moving story. Exceptionally narrated by Eduardo Ballerini !