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

Glad I hung in there

First let me say that, overall, I liked the book. Mr. Ballerini did a very good job with the narration overall, but the men were better than the women. I had no difficulty keeping track of characters after the first half hour or so.

I will advise you, however, to hang in there for the first part of the book. I had trouble "engaging" with it but once I did -after the story moved from Italy to Los Angeles - I became interested. Although I thought there were a number of points where a bit of editing would have improved the flow, all in all, the author does a good job of setting atmosphere and moving the story along. I wouldn't call it "best seller quality." But that's just my opinion. It's not "wow" material but it's worth both a credit and the time.

Not a book I would normally buy

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

Compelling, contemplative, satisfying

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

Not a book I would usually listen to, so don't have a lot to compare it to.

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

Loved that he didn't sound like he was acting, just read it so low key and charmingly, yet was never boring. I would never have read the names right, and he gave me a better feeling for the hotel keeper.

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

The son, just to hear his journey and what this life has taught him, and how he would have dealt with himself if he were the parent.

Good concept but crass and profane

Any additional comments?

The best thing I can say about this audio book is that the narrator was phenomenal! I loved the concept of the story and the characters, however, I felt that the profanity and crassness took away from the potential beauty of the novel. Yes, that made it more realistic when portraying the characters, but I think that there are ways to do that without cheapening the literary quality with cussing and crudeness. I also found much of the character development to be long and drawn out with insignificant details to the point that I would get bored waiting until it got to the meat of the story.

Entertaining, not perfect

I genuinely liked this book. I chose it because I like all things set in Italy. Though much of the book was not, the imagery when there was fulfilling. One thing that really stuck out for me was some great quotations about life that were scattered throughout like moments of poetry in an otherwise fairly morose story. I almost gave it three stars because I didn't really like any of the characters. I know that in reality there are no perfect people, but I do believe there are people who would not make some of the horrible choices the characters in Beautiful Ruins did. Overall, though, I really do appreciate the overarching theme of the book which was that one will always be happier if they choose to do right rather than just doing what they feel like doing. Because several of the characters lived out that philosophy, I went ahead and gave it 4 stars.

Good, but nowhere near great

I saw this novel compared to "The Help", and was surprised because "The Help" was much better than "Beautiful Ruins" - at least in my opinion. This was a good story, but not an unforgettable one.

Not perfect but entertaining

I find myself agreeing with the review written by "Ella." Ballerini is an excellent narrator, but the story is lacking. I enjoyed the young Pasquale scenes much more then the modern-day scenes -- I felt that the story line went off-track when it settled into the modern day. The sections I enjoyed most involved the villagers and their humorous observations, as well as Pasquale's determination to do right by Dee. Not bad for a light summer read, but I am not enthusiastically recommending it to my friends.

A little hard to follow and drags on at times.

There were several times I wanted to just stop listening, it was confusing and, honestly, boring. But I continued and it did get better. With the span of over 50 years and the continuous back and forth from the 60's so present, it took some concentration to keep up. There were a few good moments, so I won't say it was a complete waste of time.

Very jumpy with many characters to follow.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Loved the time period and location but found myself wanting more from each character.

Any additional comments?

You may not want to be multitasking with this one.

Good Purpose but a Little Slow

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The book jumped back and fourth a lot and I didn't care for the way this book did that.

Would you recommend Beautiful Ruins to your friends? Why or why not?

I wouldn't recommend this book just because I found it drawn out. I thought the end result was good and liked the way it finished up but didn't care for the way it got there.

Which scene was your favorite?

I think my favorite scene is when D and Pasqualle go for the walk and end up at the bunker.

Any additional comments?

I thought the reader for this book was quite good. One of the reasons that I kept listening to it.

Delightful and poignant

Any additional comments?

I think I'd listen to this narrator reading a food shopping list. The story is told in the present and in a series of flashbacks, about romance, relationships and what gives our lives value and meaning. Taking place on the Italian coast (in the past), Hollywood (in the present) and on the Western plains of the US in the 1800s (a side story). Fun read, you can't go wrong.