Beautiful Ruins, by Jess Walter

While planning a trip to the Italian Riviera, this book popped up on my very broad google search. (Full disclosure: the beautiful cover shot also drew me in!) This romantic novel, set circa 1962, dips into the world of golden-era Hollywood and brims with delicious characters you will want to cheer for or console. Beautiful Ruins crosses continents and sprawls over decades all in bright, elegant prose. Walter’s witty—and sometimes sharp—observations, will keep you turning pages to the very end. Be warned, the timeline jumps around, and there is a huge cast of characters, but for me, it never detracted from this engaging work.

Buy if—you like books with multiple settings and many characters.

Avoid if—you like books with linear timelines.

Buy at Amazon

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*