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

So pleased I read Cindy's review

Cindy said it was the best mistake she ever read ... there was nothing about the Publishers Summary that pushed my buttons - but Cindy's comment jumped out ... and I purchased it. Love love love it. Can feel the warm water and the sun, and live with the characters. Well worth the credit.

Great Story

What did you love best about Beautiful Ruins?

The intertwining of all the stories

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

Everything. He was an excellent narrator

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

Dee Mora -she seemed like she had the most depth to her

Utterly Wonderful

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

Absolutely. This is not just a wonderful book, but a great marriage of narrator and story. Edoardo Ballerini brings life to Jess Walter's compelling and unforgettable characters. It's hard to believe a book can be so many things at once-- a critique on today's pop culture, a love letter to coastal Italy, a stirring homage to a time and place that are the stuff of modern legend, a story about the way we tell stories-- and accomplish it all in just a little over 300 pages. And yet, it never feels overstuffed.

What other book might you compare Beautiful Ruins to and why?

It's hard to say. I haven't encountered another book quite like this one. If you've read Walter's also excellent The Financial Lives of the Poets, you won't want to miss this one. The characters could be out of an early John Irving novel, the humor straight from Tom Perrotta, and the "inside showbiz" vibe right out of Nick Hornby's Funny Girl (albeit slightly more from the sidelines than in that book). But the truth is, this is a Jess Walter book all the way, a label which makes me more and more excited with every novel he writes.

Which scene was your favorite?

Honestly, every scene contributes to the narrative, tone, and characterization, but the final chapter is such a beautiful, moving summation of everything we've read so far, it stays in the mind long after. It is the closest thing I've encountered to a perfect chapter so far this year.

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

Don't be surprised if you find yourself unexpectedly tearing up or grinning at some points. Any book with this much life in it provokes a reaction.

Any additional comments?

Buy it. Read it. Love it. Seriously, Jess Walter has now officially graduated from being "one to watch" to "one to love."

Great Book!

This is a very entertaining book whose story covers many time periods and topics. This all fits together perfectly for the listener's pure enjoyment. I like to listen to a variety of types of books and this one is great for such a fun and inventive fictional journey. Have fun.

So glad I discovered this book!!

This audiobook has it all - storyline, characters, setting, but most especially, an amazing narrator.

Ah, how refreshing!

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

The narration by Edoardo Ballerini was just amazing, he has a true gift and brought the story to life.

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

Finally, an ending worth raving about! Seems I have been in a lull with good, unpredictable and satisfying endings but this did not disappoint!!

Which scene was your favorite?

Visualizing Porto Vergogna, the author did a great job and the cover was very helpful too.

Wonderful in all aspects

I have not been so drawn in to a story in a long time. I could not wait to learn where each character was going and held my breath as the story unfolded.

Sweet, Tinsel Town Fairy Tale of days gone by

Could be a movie, about the movies and the train wrecks the whole business leaves in its wake. The characters are full of spicey differences and the name dropping references are fun for those of us who even know who they are anymore. The visuals of the Italian seaside villages are dreamy and the narration is perfect in every way. A Medateranian vacation. Make it a film, I will go. Its just a zen kind of story, drink tea, relax and listen.

From Italy to Hollywood and back.

If you could sum up Beautiful Ruins in three words, what would they be?

Nostalgic visit to Tuscany

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

Pascuale's relationship with D when he first meets her at the hotel

Any additional comments?

The narrator was wonderful. So many characters with so many dialects and accents.

Beautifully Written and Produced

Unfortunately I was slow to grasp the significance of this wonderful book. I read the reviews but was not moved to purchase. However, once I started listening I simply could not stop. Beautiful Ruins is exceptionally well written and the narrator was superb. Traversing back and forth through decades and with the myriad of characters is a literary journey worth taking. Credit or no credit. Love endures. Life lessons are learned. Bravissimo!