I found some interesting humor in situations such as characters Pat and Alvis Bender being perpetually on a bender. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. Beautiful Ruins shows novelists how it is done.” (The Plain Dealer) “His [Walter’s] characters are long-suffering, prone to failure and sometimes at death’s door. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. 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. I adored the storyline's Italian Coastal setting and connected to the first few characters the most. by Jess Walter. The Italian housekeeper and his long-lost American starlet; the producer who once brought them together, and his assistant. What unfolds is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. I really wanted to like this book but it is a disappointment. See our, Read a limited number of articles each month, You consent to the use of cookies and tracking by us and third parties to provide you with personalized ads, Unlimited access to washingtonpost.com on any device, Unlimited access to all Washington Post apps, No on-site advertising or third-party ad tracking. Beautiful Ruins shows novelists how it is done.” (The Plain Dealer) “His [Walter’s] characters are long-suffering, prone to failure and sometimes at death’s door. The plot is unique. These promotions will be applied to this item: Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. Bring this book to the beach! Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2018. I will …more I loved Beautiful Ruins. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Beautiful Ruins is a bestselling novel by Jess Walter, first published in 2012. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. Walk. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. Beautiful Ruins was a quick and enjoyable summer read. Beautiful Opening Sections Slightly Ruined by the End, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2013. Jess Walter can break your heart in one conversation. Bring this book to the beach! Beautiful Ruins was a quick and enjoyable summer read. Book Discussion Questions: Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Beautiful Ruins Jess Walter, 2012 HarperCollins 352 pp. . Best Book of the Year: Entertainment Weekly, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Seattle Times, The Oregonian, St. Louis Today, Kansas City Star, Goodreads, Hudsons, Barnes and Noble, Amazon "Walter shifts between his characters expertly, allowing the adventure to unfold from multiple perspectives. First of all, I HATE books that flip back and forth, back and forth in time. Did you prefer the modern day story or the 1960s storyline? It is mostly a love story, beautifully written, with rich characters, humor and depth. Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2017. On to something better. It's an exquisitely written, character-driven story that's perfect for summer. Jess Walter has quietly and expertly built a career over six novels that puts him at the forefront of great American writers. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying. This writer is truly an old soul who knows how to make the reader laugh until tears roll, without making the story shallow, who has the ability to paint a perfect picture without boring the reader to tears, to break from one story line into a completely new story line without losing or annoying the reader, but rather immediately catching the reader up in an entirely new plot. Even with that, the story is very entangled and totally unbelievable. This book has to go into the top ten list of books from this decade! I adored the storyline's Italian Coastal setting and connected to the first few characters the most. 2. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. A shining, imaginative tale . He always had her in his heart and finally found her. . The Italian bits of this book are very atmospheric and take you back to Liguria and the Cinque Terre, fishermen sitting about and small hotels clinging to the rocks. The middle slogged through supporting characters I wasn't as captivated by, but the author made up for it with such a sweet and satisfying ending. Michael Deane is a jerk. By clicking “I agree” below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. We rely on readers like you to uphold a free press. Though not the explicit focus of the novel, receiving very little direct appearances in the novel, the characters' lives revolve around Elizabeth Taylor and her role in the movie Cleopatra, and the subsequent love affair between Taylor and Richard Burton. The acclaimed, award-winning author of the national bestseller, The Financial Lives of the Poets: A Novel, The Secret History (Vintage Contemporaries), “A monument to crazy love . The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. It tugs at the heartstrings, but it's not depressing. If you had to give the book a letter grade, what would you give? There's a problem loading this menu right now. The actor Richard Burton even makes an appearance. Even then, for months afterward, you’ll keep it close so you can reread a passage here and there that moved you. What a wonderful book! There are so many bestsellers that feel as if there were churned out in a factory and dumbed down to 5th grade reading level. Does this book contain quality or formatting issues? I have to say that I only persevered because of the Italian characters, to whom I was drawn. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions. I generally like a multiple point of view but in this case all the intertwining/interlocking stories did not seem to yield the psychological and philophical depth similar constructs normally produce.So I would say: not bad at all, but I hope Walter's next novel will be a more beautiful ruin. Jess Walter has written a sumptuous epic about the real people who make art, spinning illusion for fun, profit, and meaning. Most of the novel’s characters—Alvis Bender, Dee Moray, Shane Wheeler, Claire Silver, Pat Bender, even Richard Burton—have dreams. It is not a book about travel. €5 every 4 weeks or just €50 €20 for the first year, €7 every 4 weeks or just €70 €30 for the first year. Grab your girls and discuss with our monthly JUGs book club discussion guide. He lives in his hometown of Spokane, Washington. Beautiful Ruins fails to rival Steve Tesich's brilliant 1998 novel, Karoo, which takes on Hollywood, emphatically grapples with the Big Subjects, while juggling some brilliant social satire. Having been to Cinque Terre long time ago this was a lovely reminder about the uniqueness of that area. The rest was a bit fanciful I thought. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Posted September 22, 2015 by Jenny. As do the description of the charming but very "special" character of Los Angeles and Hollywood/Beverly Hills, another place I know fairly well. . I somewhat hesitate to add another star, but I am sorry to say that on the whole the novel struck me as rather sentimental and a bit contrived. “Beautiful Ruins” also includes wittily wrought excerpts from its various characters’ writings, among them a novel, a memoir, a play and a movie pitch. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2020. The middle slogged through supporting characters I wasn't as captivated by, but the author made up for it with such a sweet and satisfying ending. I loved this novel. And just as Jess Walter introduces us to these characters, he follows them for fifty years. Something went wrong. Please try again. Hopscotching between 1960s Italy and contemporary Hollywood, Jess Walter’s “ Beautiful Ruins ” is a novel about memory, nostalgia and ephemera. Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter Beautiful Ruins is a novel by Jess Walter, first published in 2012. This book starts in 1962, jumps to "Recently" back to 1962, 2006, 1967, 1945 and more like this. 3. . The characters are wonderfully drawn. There's no explicit sex or violence. 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. Please try your request again later. I adored the storyline's Italian Coastal setting and connected to the first few characters the most. Walter [is] a believer in capricious destiny with a fine, freewheeling sense of humor.” (. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2013. The print size is so small making it a task to read the work. Beautiful Ruins is the emerald among the pearls. It is mostly a love story, beautifully written, with rich characters, humor and depth. Binned. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. Jess Walter is the author of six novels, including the bestsellers Beautiful Ruins and The Financial Lives of the Poets, the National Book Award finalist The Zero, and Citizen Vince, the winner of the Edgar Award for best novel. Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2016. This information about Beautiful Ruins shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. . After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2019. Unable to add item to List. Jess Walter’s latest novel is a stunning and nuanced page-turner spanning multiple lives and a good portion of the past half-century. From the moment you pick up the novel, it conjures a world that you long to enter. How to describe Beautiful Ruins?It's such an odd yet enchanting book. The middle slogged through supporting characters I wasn't as captivated by, but the author made up for it with such a sweet and satisfying ending. It is a rare treat to read a novel so good that I keep on reading it in my mind even after the characters have walked off the stage. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2015. Beautiful Ruins might just correct that oversight.” (Kansas City Star) “Beautiful . What are these dreams and how do they parallel and collide? If you have a story to tell, TELL IT. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. Bring this book to the beach! I adored the storyline's Italian Coastal setting and connected to the first few characters the most. You needn’t worry. Beautiful Ruinsis a glorious read for book lovers. At first glance, you’re dying to get inside those houses and find out what’s going on. The middle slogged through supporting characters I wasn't as captivated by, but the author made up for it with such a sweet and satisfying ending. The middle slogged through supporting characters I wasn't as captivated by, but the author made up for it with such a sweet and satisfying ending. His short fiction has appeared in Harper's, McSweeney's, and Playboy, as well as The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. 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. How do their dreams play out in their lives?What would life be like if we didn’t have dreams? By clicking “I agree” below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. The novel is a social satire which explores human nature and satirizing the … Black & African American Literary Fiction. 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