Overview

A gorgeous, glamorous novel set in 1960s Italy and a modern Hollywood studio - a New York Times bestseller The story begins on the Italian coast in 1962. A young innkeeper watches in disbelief as a beautiful American girl gets out of a boat and climbs towards his hotel. She turns out to be an actress, on the run from the shenanigans going on down the coast in Rome at the filming of Cleopatra. A few days later international star Richard Burton, much the worse for wear, appears in the village too. Half a century later, and half a world away in Hollywood, an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot - searching for the woman he last saw in his hotel fifty years before. What unfolds is a dazzling novel teeming with unforgettable characters- the Italian and his long-lost love; the heroically cynical film producer who first brought them together, now a successful legend on the Hollywood scene, and his idealistic young assistant; and the husbands, wives and lovers, superstars and victims, who have populated their world since that summer day in 1962. Gloriously inventive, filled with surprises, Beautiful Ruins is a magnificent novel about love and fame, dreams and reality.

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9780670922659

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Reviews

4 STARS. Entrancing novel ... Walter's turns of phrase are as brilliant as his plot twists, making for a compelling, fun read. People Magazine Beautiful Ruins weds the grand impulses of the cinematic blockbuster to the psychological interiority of high literary art. The result is a page-turner that doubles as an elegant meditation on fame, desire, and fate. Boston Globe In all his books, Jess Walter is smart and generous and prodigious, and Beautiful Ruins is no exception. Surprises abound but Walter keeps his plot tethered to reality, resonating and reverberating and building to a conclusion that is as satisfying as it is gratifying. Huffington Post To say Walter succeeds in stitching past to present, continent to continent, undercuts the book entirely; he rather reimagines history in a package so appealing we'd be idiots not to buy it ... Walter tragicomically exposes the recesses between the desires and intentions of his protagonists and how close the two might be if it weren't for the rest of the world. A novel shot in sparkly Technicolor. Booklist Hilarious and compelling Esquire Beautiful Ruins is a novel unlike any other you're likely to read this year -- Nick Hornby, 'the Believer'

Beautiful Ruins is a novel unlike any other you're likely to read this year -- Nick Hornby You're going to love this book New York Times Book Review A brilliant, madcap meditation on fate Kirkus Reviews A novel shot in sparkly Technicolor Booklist The beach read of the summer Vogue Hilarious and compelling Esquire Magic. Walter is a believer in capricious destiny with a fine, freewheeling sense of humour ... A monument to crazy love with a deeply romantic heart New York Times Poignant, comical and marvellous San Francisco Chronicle Larger-than-life characters, billowy romance and crafty satire ... Any book that includes Richard Burton as a character is fine by us Esquire Cinematic and utterly romantic ... the big beach read for summer Sunday Times

Just about the perfect summer read. It is intelligent and thought-provoking, but also a lot of fun. Reading hours fly by and reaching the final page feels like a genuine wrench Sunday Times Ambitious, large-hearted, exhilarating novel that leaves you wanting more ... Very, very funny The Times Beautiful Ruins is a novel unlike any other you're likely to read this year -- Nick Hornby Romantic, very funny...Turbo-charged satire meets a Garcia Marquezesque love story. What's not to like? Daily Mail Walter creates an epic here - one that took him 15 years to write. The end result, however, is well worth the wait Observer A sparkling summer read Telegraph Thoroughly enjoyable, a tender, funny, ridiculous tale which has love at its core and a keen satirical edge to cut through the lovely, lush romanticism Sunday Express You're going to love this book New York Times Book Review A brilliant, madcap meditation on fate Kirkus Reviews A novel shot in sparkly Technicolor Booklist The beach read of the summer Vogue Hilarious and compelling Esquire Magic. Walter is a believer in capricious destiny with a fine, freewheeling sense of humour ... A monument to crazy love with a deeply romantic heart New York Times Poignant, comical and marvellous San Francisco Chronicle Larger-than-life characters, billowy romance and crafty satire ... Any book that includes Richard Burton as a character is fine by us Esquire Cinematic and utterly romantic ... the big beach read for summer Sunday Times My absolute favourite read this year -- Nick Curtis Evening Standard 'Books of the Year' A bravura feat -- Peter Kemp Sunday Times 'Books of the Year' The beach read of 2013 Grazia 'Books of the Year' Think Il Postino with a walk-on part for a comically drunk Richard Burton -- Peter Brookes The Times 'Books of the Year'

4 STARS. Entrancing novel ... Walter's turns of phrase are as brilliant as his plot twists, making for a compelling, fun read. People Magazine Beautiful Ruins weds the grand impulses of the cinematic blockbuster to the psychological interiority of high literary art. The result is a page-turner that doubles as an elegant meditation on fame, desire, and fate. Boston Globe In all his books, Jess Walter is smart and generous and prodigious, and Beautiful Ruins is no exception. Surprises abound but Walter keeps his plot tethered to reality, resonating and reverberating and building to a conclusion that is as satisfying as it is gratifying. Huffington Post To say Walter succeeds in stitching past to present, continent to continent, undercuts the book entirely; he rather reimagines history in a package so appealing we'd be idiots not to buy it ... Walter tragicomically exposes the recesses between the desires and intentions of his protagonists and how close the two might be if it weren't for the rest of the world. A novel shot in sparkly Technicolor. Booklist Hilarious and compelling Esquire

Author Information

Jess Walter is the author of six novels, including The Financial Lives of the Poets and The Cold Millions. Beautiful Ruins was a New York Times bestseller, and We Live in Water was one of Barack Obama's books of 2019. Jess Walter lives in Spokane, Washington with his family.

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