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

Entertaining with some flaws

I felt the story goes downhill at the end. It felt like such an abrupt closure after 9 hours of build up. Worth listening to, though. The performance was done really well in my opinion.

Over Hyped

Bought this book based upon all of the raving reviews. It was over rated. I finished the whole thing, but I wasn't in any hurry. There wasn't anything about this book that caused me to want to hear more, and it seemed to just plod along. Personally, I'd save the credit for a better story.

I truly enjoyed the story and the characters.

Ballerini did a great job and following the characters through their journey during the different time periods was captivating. I love how the wnding broke down where everyone ended up. people who like closure will love this book.

Fascinating story superb performance!

What did you love best about Beautiful Ruins?

How the characters were "built up" throughout the story, their conenctions, their development, their individuality.

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

Not one moment, but the sad wonderful sweet love between Pascale and Dee and wondering what could have been.....

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

Edoardo is simply amazing. I know him from other books (Robert MacCammon's series on Mathew Corbett) and I chose this book mostly because I wanted to hear him. He is one of my favorite narrators. He has the most amazing talent to choose the correct accent/vibe/energy for each character. And he does both british and american so well. He rocks.

Any additional comments?

I had no expectations to this book and therefore I was very impressed with the way the author interweaved the story so well, back and forth in time, so many characters and how they influenced each other, the charachters were real and believeable. Simply superb. I will look into other stories by the author. And of course, as I said, Eduardo Ballerini is a masterful narrator.

A lovely story.

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

A lovely story.

What did you like best about this story?

I so enjoyed the ways the characters are developed and how their stories cross.

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

Not necessarily laugh or cry...just feel.

Pro: Best narrator I've ever heard, Con: Profanity

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

In 3 years of Audible, I have never had the pleasure of listening to such an incredible narrator. He had to do a dozen different voices, and he NAILED it every time! I will listen to anything this man narrates from now on.

Any additional comments?

The book was great, but I feel like I can't recommend it to my sisters or mother or friends because of the language. It would be one of the best books I've ever read if it weren't for the language. I would edit a copy of the book for people, but then they'd miss out on Edoardo Ballerini's performance! I'm a little torn.

Better heard and not seen!

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

Such a dear heartfelt story! After reading just 2 chapters I realized how much my husband would enjoy this story. The real bonus is listening to the book is the Italian accents. We chuckled through all 12 hours(I cried a little ,too.) But if you read the story,you would never get the great sing-song melody of the true Italian dialect. certainly

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

Certainly,but you can't really listen for that many hours.

Any additional comments?

Appealing to both men and women. Story line switches were very accomplished. You will fall in love with all the characters.

Could have been a great book...

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

I think the author captures the 1960's portion of this book well and the Narrator was astonishing with his abilities to really bring out all the various characters and their very diverse accents; but overall the story was dull, drifted far from its cover description and a little disjointed at times. I felt like there were too many characters. A few of those characters I'm still puzzled about their inclusion. The story behind the story was boring to me. This was not the novel I thought I was getting into and I'm confused by the many 5 star ratings I see. I wouldn't recommend this book to a friend; I feel like it was a waste of time.

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

I wanted more. I felt like it was dry and a whole book was built up to a moment that lasted so briefly with very little emotion or feeling. The shallow characters hogged up too many pages and were a needless waste of space. Too hurried.

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

No I haven't but I would like to hear other performances by him.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

Wonderful Story; Incredible Performance

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

The story is very moving and poignant and spans several decades. The author created indelible characters and sprinkled enough humor through the story to balance out the sad or bittersweet parts. He gets at the essence of every kind of love: romantic, friendship, familial, egotistical self-love.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters and the look into ways certain events play out completely differently for those involved. I loved the characters and the dialog was excellent. The author created rich landscapes.

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

I loved everything about the narrator's performance. This was one of the best audiobook performances I've ever heard. He made every character come to life. His Italian and Italian-accented English for certain characters was fantastic. And he was able to do all the voices -- male and female -- without sounding absurd or cheesy.

Any additional comments?

The only downside to the book is that the author juggled a few too many storylines and eras. I think it is important to listen to this consistently, or you might get lost as to what is happening and when/where.

WONDERFUL LOVE STORY-of the non-traditional kind

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

Sad it ended.

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

I can't even compare this to another book.

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

Inflection, drama, proper pronunciation!

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

WONDERFUL LOVE STORY-of the non-traditional kind

Any additional comments?

Such a great experience. I was honestly sad when it ended. I fell in love with the characters.