Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

1934 Words4 Pages

The story that Jess Walter tells, much like any other novel, is one of joy and sorrow. Lives intersect and separate, people fall into and out of love, and dreams are made and broken. What Walter does with his plot though is quite different. He writes it in a way where the whole book itself relies on the reader’s ability to realize that though some people meet for only a brief amount of time, their dreams and hopes, can hinge on even the briefest moments. Sometimes the characters in the novel have their stories intersect, some in very interesting ways, and other times you see their story as it is and was, just them. Walter does a wonderful job of bringing together many different lives, many stories, and showing how just because you feel alone, does not mean you are, your life and story can at any moment intersect with another and create a whole different story. Perhaps, Alvis Bender puts the idea that Walter is trying to convey into the best words, “Stories are people. I’m a story, you’re a story . . . your father is a story. Our stories go in every direction, but sometimes, if we’re lucky, our stories join into one, and for a while, we’re less alone.”
Walter introduces readers to his characters in such a way that it seems like a movie. He allows the characters personalities to grow as the novel progresses and they intersect with other characters. The main characters are Pasqual Tursi, Richard Burton, Debra “Dee” Moray, Alvis Bender, Michael Deane, Shane Wheeler, Claire Silver, and Pat Bender. These eight character’s stories provide the plot line to the book. Some stories are tragic and others hopeful, but all depend on one another at some point during the course of the novel. Walter shows how peoples lives can intersect...

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...al left what he wanted, the beautiful American Dee Moray, to do the right thing and be with the mother of his child, we know that Pasqual led a happy life with Amadea. Even after her passing and the reuniting of Pasqual and Dee, we see Amadea’s influence is still there when Pasqual brings Dee to meet all of his children and grand children.
Ultimately, Walter does a wonderful job of bringing together multiple different stories and making them intertwine in various ways. It shows readers that even though one does have their own story, other stories of others lives, show up and interview with theirs. No one is ever, truly, alone. This idea is painted beautifully throughout the novel and shows that even though you may believe that your life is a ruin and you are all alone, something or someone can come into your life and, for just a moment, make it beautiful again.

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