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

Great book, with a fine performance

I really liked this... one of my favourite so far this year. I especially like the scenes that take place in 1962 - they're believable and humorous. The narrator is especially excellent for these phases. The main character is wonderfully sympathetic (if that's your thing!), and it's all very easy on the ears.

I had only two quibbles... the book seems rushed towards the end, and perhaps a little overwrought. Secondly, I've given Edoardo a 5-star review for his reading, but beware a wince-inducing Irish accent in the earlier parts. Fortunately, it's only in it for a while.

All-in-all, though, a definite recommendation - well worth the full purchase, not just a credit!

Captivating

This was a wonderfully written, beautifully narrated book. It was extremely hard to stop listening. It is definitely worth another listening.

Much more meat than I expected.

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

great performance

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

I was looking for some light storytelling to get me through some tedious work at home, but this book actually had me thinking about connections, and relationships. Story is still light, but put together with a high level of craft, and the narration was beautiful. Loved the bit with Richard Burton!

great book! .

the performance was hands down the best,with the different languages and ethnicity of people and from male to female he hit them all out of the park!! greatness

Fascinating story

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

The story was interesting and the narration was excellent. I enjoyed the movie history element.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved the Italian characters...both funny and well-developed.

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

The accents enriched each character. He is an amazing reader.

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

Not extreme--just enjoyed the experience and looked forward to hearing each episode.

A very cool story, I liked it a lot.

What did you love best about Beautiful Ruins?

The novel was well-written and the narrator was awesome. I loved the way everything was intertwined. Even though there was a lot of skipping around from the present to past, it was surprisingly easy to follow.

What did you like best about this story?

I'd love to go to Italy, so yes, I suppose so.

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

Yes, I fell in love with all the characters and with Italy. The character development was key, just the right amount of it. The back and forth from past to present made the story more intriguing and truly held my interest. Had the story been told from the beginning to end chronologically, I don't think it would have had the same effect. Loved everything about and surrounding "Front Man."

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

Nothing. I adored Edoardo Ballerini's performance greatly.

Superior

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

Great story that was brought to life beautifully by Edoardo Ballerini - highly recommend. Original story; great character development; amazing intertwining of stories. Loved it.

Good read

A fiction loosely based on some real characters and events, this was an interesting book. I like a book that inspires me to learn by looking up the actual characters, places and event. The author did a lot of research.

Beautiful Story, Convoluted Delivery.

Beautiful story, beautiful words, beautiful placed, but then confusing jaunts across time and people. I found myself having to rewind often because I'd lose grip and stop listening. Not that I wasn't interested in the unfolding of the story, because I did want to know what happened next, but it seemed to be a lot of jumps and shifts, as well as characters that were not entirely grabbing that it was not as absorbing as it could have been in my opinion.

But again, beautiful story, and beautiful words.

Bellisimo!

What a lovely book. You will fall in love with the characters and laugh and cry and accept that it is okay for their lives not to be perfect. It's okay for our lives not to be perfect. Very well written and the narration was magical.