The acclaimed, award-winning author of the national bestseller The Financial Lives of the Poets returns with his funniest, most romantic, and most purely enjoyable novel yet: the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962… and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later.
Beautiful Ruins
By jesswalter
I don’t throw this word around lightly, but when I finished reading Beautiful Ruins, I said to my husband, “This was a masterpiece.” Best book I’ve read this year.
Beautiful Ruins is a wildly entertaining novel that is inventive and gutsy. Multiple storylines weave throughout generations like a time warp on streoids. Each storyline is fascinating on its own, but together they are a marvel.
I tried reading Beautiful Ruins a few years ago, and sadly couldn’t get into it. However, I picked it up again over the summer, and fell in love! The plot is hard to describe — it bounces back and forth between the 1960s and present day (with a few other time periods thrown in), and follows several characters as their lives unexpectedly …
This extremely well-written novel offers wonderful, memorable characters and unique settings (all over the world). It took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride–laughing out loud one minute and shedding tears the next. A beautiful book and a joy to read.
Narrated by the excellent Edoardo Ballerini, Beautiful Ruins is the story of how life promises and disappoints, declines and rises up again, staggers and endures. Walter’s characters are indelible–which is important when you’re listening to the story, rather than following on the printed page, able to remind yourself of who everyone is. He …
In my recollection, I never recall being so duped by a book’s description as I was with “Beautiful Ruins”. Far from a romantic little beach read, spanning oceans and time, it was heavy and harsh and most of the time, I felt like it might never end.
What I liked about “Beautiful Ruins”:
The landscape – While so much of the book felt…well, I’ll …
Wonderful vacation read
If you don’t know Jess Walter yet, let me recommend one of the greatest writers in America today. You might as well start with “Beautiful Ruins”, but all his books are excellent, potential classics really. For mystery lovers you also have “Citizen Vince”, “Over Tumbled Graves” and “Land of the Blind”, outstanding crime fiction all. The guy has …
Using a fictional high profile romance during the 1962 filming of ‘Cleopatra’ as a backdrop, the story soon becomes a mystery shrouded in hope and sadness.
A beautiful woman shows up at a tiny Italian island resort so remote, they rarely receive guests. She looks very familiar, yet none of the villagers can quite place her. Alone and not well, …
I read at least 7 years ago. What I remember is that I loved it.
Masterful Storytelling!
Decisions with Far-Reaching Effects
3.5 Stars
5 stars for the writing
>Suitable for Mature audiences
>Limited harsh language
>Some sex, not described in detail, however just about everything that happens in this story is ultimately a result of sexual situations or decisions.
>Minimal violence. Nothing to stop you from reading
>Moments of …
Lights, camera, life: A review of Beautiful Ruins
Beautiful Ruins, Washington author Jess Walter’s dashing sixth novel, spans two continents and five decades, creating a panoramic view of the lives it encompasses. The paths of its nine main characters intersect in places as various as Italy, Hollywood, Seattle, and Sandpoint, Idaho, in the course …
I can normally finish a book in a couple days, but I had a hard time connecting for the first half of this book. And sometimes it went back and forth so much between years and characters that I had to go back and look at previous chapters. I really liked the description of the little town and the inn’s owner.
A snapshot in post-WWII Italy and much more, an original and touching story with incredible characters.
It was time for a new book.
The first book I picked up was full of horrors and war.
The second book was full of fears of horror and war. And the war was shortly coming.
I could feel my blood pressure shoot up. I am trying to control my blood pressure. I scanned through my hundreds of unread ebooks, downloading anything that might be uplifting, …
Wonderful!
Slow Built
I loved this book. Great story, great characters! A clever plot that straddles the present & the past without confusion which is always a difficult task. Very witty! The setting is the beautiful Cinque Terre which makes for an exquisite backdrop. A wonderful read!
Just a lovely story – didn’t want it to end.