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

Beautiful Ruins, beautiful story!

This story has Heart and Soul.
There are so many great reviews previously written I don't think there is anything new I could add.
I could listen to Edoardo Bellerini read the ingredients on a cereal box and it would take it to the next level. Listening to him read this book is sublime.

Loved this book!

What did you love best about Beautiful Ruins?

The story was riveting and fun.

What did you like best about this story?

The weaving of the interesting tales of each person.

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

Never before.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely although impossibly long to listen to in one sitting.

Beautiful ruins

What did you love best about Beautiful Ruins?

The voice changes of the narattor

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

Pascale, there was no blasphemy.

Any additional comments?

I find the use of valugar language and blasphemy offensive.

Masterfully woven tale

What did you love best about Beautiful Ruins?

Wonderfully woven story lines all come together in a remarkable tale. The narrator is fantastic!

A Magical Story about a Magical Time in Rome

Would you listen to Beautiful Ruins again? Why?

If I listen to this book before I go to sleep, I will, undoubtedly have magical dreams.

What did you like best about this story?

Takes place in my favorite place in the world.

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

Edoardo adds color to a wonderful story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

oh yes, but I won't tell you.

Any additional comments?

Just get it.

Not What I Expected.

This book was a bit of a let down. The characters were varied and interesting and I loved getting to see them develop through the twenty year span of the book. I loved the intertwining of the stories but was left unfulfilled at the conclusion.

It started off so well

Where does Beautiful Ruins rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was excellently narrated.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was expected, but that isn't a bad thing.

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

He did a great job will all of the characters and didn't try to talk in falsetto for the women.

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

No.

Any additional comments?

This novel started off strong, but unraveled in the middle. There is a fictionalization of a real life person which was unnecessary. The story would have been stronger without it.

Obsessed!

I absolutely LOVED this book: maybe because it takes place often in the summer and I was in the mood for something summer-y, maybe because I'm an actress living in LA and much of the book revolves around the entertainment industry. But, most of all, I loved this book because of the writing. "Beautiful Ruins" is wonderfully written. Jess Walter twists together the different character's effortlessly. The end of each chapter left me content while simultaneously desiring to hear more about that person's path. It can be a little hard to start listening to each chapter because there are a lot of character's to follow. And sometime's I just wanted to hear the previous character's storyline continue. For example, the first chapter from Alvis Bender's point of view was hard to get into at first, but when it ended it was my favorite one in the book. Edoardo Ballerini is incredible. As an actor, I was impressed with his many dialects and inflections. He had his work cut out for him in this project and he rose to the occasion. It's a great novel by a great writer. Just give it a listen.

Loved This Book

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

I didn't read this book yet, but I really enjoyed the narrator's performance, so I would assume that he just took a great book and made it better. With so many reference to things in Italian, it was a plus for me to hear the correct pronunciation, which I don't think I would have accomplished on my own, just reading this book. I will probably give it a read myself at some point.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Beautiful Ruins?

There were many. I really enjoyed any of the scenes that took place in the village.

What does Edoardo Ballerini bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

See above.

Any additional comments?

My only critique would be that some parts could get a little slow and wandering with maybe a touch more flowery philosophical musings than was absolutely necessary. But, it was a minor annoyance, and did not take away from the overall story. I knew there were exciting things coming up, and sometimes felt like it was taking too long to get to them. But like I said, not at all reason enough to no love love love this book.

Great story, well told

Beautiful Ruins is the kind of novel that when you finish reading it, you gently take out your earphones and reflect. Jess Walters’ storytelling kept me pleasantly engaged with the characters as they navigated different eras (and places) in their life journeys. Edoardo Ballerini's characterizations were well done, adding to my immersion into the story (unlike other narrators who can be over-the-top and distracting).

If you don’t like character studies, or simply want a “point A to point B” book, then look elsewhere. But I found the journey surprisingly entertaining, humorous, and moving. I don’t usually write reviews, but I am so impressed with Beautiful Ruins that I want others to experience it as well. Enjoy.