Beautiful Ruins
Books | Fiction / General
3.8
(865)
Jess Walter
The #1 New York Times bestseller, now available in paperback—Jess Walter’s “absolute masterpiece” (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author): the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962 and resurfaces fifty years later in contemporary Hollywood.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. Hailed by critics and loved by readers of literary and historical fiction, Beautiful Ruins is the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962...and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later.
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More Details:
Author
Jess Walter
Pages
352
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published Date
2013-04-02
ISBN
0061928178 9780061928178
Community ReviewsSee all
"While I enjoyed this book, I did put it down for long stretches. There are some clever plot devices and a sort of bittersweet dark humor throughout but I can’t help thinking I’d rather see the movie version. "
Jodi Rosoff
"I was surprised by how moving this was. "
Emily Calleja
"Great pool book."
Sheli Wilburn
"Lovely story of loss and "what might have beens". Moving back and forth in time between present day Hollywood and England, and Italy in the early 1960s, a multitude of family mysteries and relationships are revealed and untangled. Some hilarious bits featuring Richard Burton's alcohol fueled visit to Capri during his affair with Cleopatra co-star Elizabeth Taylor."
Lesley Williams
"This one doesn’t always.go the way you might expect it to. I liked the seemingly divergent storylines and characters.The author ties it all together at the end. This one is a good summer read."
H G
Harold Goldfus
"This was a really good book, although I don't know that I would want to read it again. It felt like an original idea to me for the most part."
tactical_booknerd
"If you love Italy....old Hollywood movies & actors....dysfunctional relationships.....the inside of today's Hollywood producers....the thrill of fame....losing someone and finding them again....<br/><br/>Well then you will find the perfect book for you to read in this wonderful novel by Jess Walter. The characters are easy to like and the narrator does a great Richard Burton. I had so much fun listening to this book!"
Tracy Walters
"I really wanted to like this book and I tried really hard, but it just didn’t pull me in. In chapter 4 I gave up and moved onto my next book."
Lynn Retterer
"This was a good beach read. The parts set in 1962 were by far the best. The other story lines in different time periods did not flow as well and took you out of the story instead of making you more interested. I normally really enjoy books that take place in different time periods, but here I do not think it worked. And I did not like the last chapter - it would have been better if it had just ended without adding the wrap up."
"One of my most favorite reads ever "
A P
ALLISON POTTER
