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 is indeed beautiful

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

This was a lovely story that was wonderfully narrated

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

The description of the paintings in the cave and their revisit to the same spot so many years later

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

A lovely voice and believable accent, It is tricky to switch genders and still be believable, Edoardo does this nicely

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

The tile suits the story

Any additional comments?

Definitely worth the listen

Many Characters a lot plots

This books is very different as you are introduced to several characters ranging from 1960 to present day. Eventually they all intersect and come together (like the movie Traffic but with a different plot).

This story is about Italy in 1960 and a struggling innkeeper who is surprised when a Hollywood starlet comes to stay.

It is also about Hollywoods' stars of Cleopatra and the trouble the studio had with the actors in making the film.

It is also about present day Hollywood and reality TV. Also is it possible to ever make an epic movie in Hollywood again?

And finally what do you do when an aging Italian innkeeper comes to Hollywood looking for the starlet who stayed for three days. He is carrying a business card of one of the producers for 20th Century Fox which means a favor is do.

I find this story engaging and very touching.

Beautiful, 'Beautiful Ruins'

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

Really up there. About Number Three.

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

Lots of memorable moments, not just one.

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

His bella Italian.

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

I never have extreme reactions to a book unless I really, really Hate It. So it's a good thing I had no extreme reaction.

Any additional comments?

Read it, listen to it, enjoy it! Ciao!

Amazing Story, Wonderfully Read

Would you listen to Beautiful Ruins again? Why?

I would listen to the book again and pay more attention to some of the characters and their development.

What did you like best about this story?

The weaving of several wonderful stories

A Must Listen To!

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

I did not read the print version however, listening to the beautiful Itallian languge spoken and not read is certainly a plus. It makes the story more real.

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

The meeting of everyone at the cabin.

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

Beautiful!!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A very romantic story and a personal awakening.

made my drive flyby

I thoroughly enjoyed the story. When I got to my hotel and still have four chapters left I kind of wished I could just keep listening

Hard to follow... and a little strange

Not a fan of Jess Walters style of writing. There is a beautiful story in here but it's overtaken by nonsense. Wouldn't recommend it jumps all over the place.

Best I've read in a long time

This book is so beautiful, fascinating, and smart. I loved the Hollywood setting and the author's clever way of indulging tropes and stereotypes but with irony and forgiveness. One of the many themes, we all want what we want, keeps ringing in my head. The scenes in Italy are also rich and colorful, and O feel like I could listen to that reader forever as he switches easily between English and Italian. This is so good. Read it now.

Did Not Want This One to End

I really enjoyed this book. The plot is complicated, the stories are rich, and the characters are a bit surreal. There are also some very funny moments (soliloquies from Richard Burton, no less) and the narration is exceptional. The story begins in Italy. It's the Hollywood heyday of the early 60's with its bigger-than-life American glamour and epic romances (Liz and Dick). A beautiful and mysterious woman arrives at a seaside village and the story unfolds. Then, just as you're getting comfortable here, the story does a flash forward to the not-so-glamorous present day Hollywood. Somehow, the author weaves these and other places, times, and people together to create rich, wonderful stories about life, love and happiness. I'd listen to this one again.

Sneaks up on you

What did you love best about Beautiful Ruins?

Character development

What did you like best about this story?

The arrangement of the sequencing

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

Wonderful reading

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

Nothing. The title is perfect

Any additional comments?

It draws you in and doesn't let go.