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

Good but, not great

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The story was good but not great. Very realistic but not much of a good feeling when the book is done. I wasn't looking for Cinderella but something kind of nice

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The story was interesting, it definitely carried you along. The outcome of the story just kind of let me down.

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

His performance was amazing, perfect!

Was Beautiful Ruins worth the listening time?

It was worth the listen one time but, this is not a book I'll listening to again.

Has Become One of My Favorites

I loved the story and really loved the reader. I found the jumping around in time easy to follow and found myself loving and caring about the characters. It seems so believable, I didn't want it to end.

A pleasant surprise

Builds slowly and took awhile to get into, but then really held my attention. I loved the mix of real/fictional characters, places, and events.

Absolutely charming

I gave this book four stars out of five because its ambitions--covering so many lives through so much time--sometimes gets in its own way. But don't let that stop you from listening--a truly charming love story that has an upbeat, everyone wins trajectory with enough introspection and perspective to keep eyes from cynically rolling. Very well done indeed...

I hardly ever love novels

I have to start every review by sayning I hate to write reviews because: 1- taste is subjective, and 2- I hate most of what I read or listen to. That being said- I love the audio version of this book. I don't think I would have liked it so much if I read it. The narration is terrific. The story is compelling and I wanted it to go on forever. It's one of those "now what am I gonna read" stories because you know whatever book you read next will not be as good.

great listen!

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

You learn the stories of each character and then they are so interwoven, so as to tie it all together.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved how the characters grew and changed as they became self aware.

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

His voices!

A pretty good listen...

What did you love best about Beautiful Ruins?

The evolution of the characters over time.

Would you be willing to try another book from Jess Walter? Why or why not?

No. This book was a little bit crass for me. I would not seek out something else by this author.

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

His Richard Burton voice.

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

Don't know.

Great writer, great story great narration.

If you want a novel to to take you to some place exotic and introduce you to characters you care about and totally capture you, you'll love Beautiful Ruins. It's hard to imagine any lover of great fiction not being entertained by this story. I've been a member for several years and this ranks as one of my favorites. Download it now.

Entertaining

Would you try another book from Jess Walter and/or Edoardo Ballerini?

yes

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

yes, It was not a "must read" but it was worth the time spent listening

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

The italian inn keeper

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

I would watch it on TV

Any additional comments?

I think the writer did a good job helping the reader to invision the characters.
The narrator was good as well.
He kept the interest going when the story line fell a little flat at times.

Didn't want it to end

I was grabbed from the first few minutes, and attribute this not only to a very interesting story line but the flawless narration of Mr. Ballerini.

The characters are people I truly cared about. The plot had very interesting twists and turns that kept me thoroughly engaged and entertained. If you're looking for a novel to dive into, I highly recommend Beautiful Ruins.