Beautiful Ruins Q&A

Just finished The Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters. No wonder it took 15 years to write, so much toing and froing, phew I'm exhausted. First book Iv'e read by a male author other than the classics. Really didn't think I was going to like it, I don't like books that keep going back and forth as a rule, however after a while about eight chapters in I was beginning to wonder how it was going to all fit in place and where it was going to end. We certainly traveled in the the book. I enjoyed the book, on a score out of ten I would give it eight. My question to Jess is. Have you been to Edinburgh and to the fringe festival? This book must have taken a lot of research, or you know the places so well. Thanks for a most enjoyable read I do hope that any current books take less time for you to write. I give you ten out of ten for your perseverance. Thank you once again for this lovely book.

Thank you for my copy of Beautiful Ruins, I am really enjoying it. My question is why are some of the chapters in a different font ?

Thinking about it some more, I was inclined to patronise Pasquale at first. He seemed a bit of a foolish character with his poor English, impractical ideas and strangely named hotel.

But then I recognised that his English was infinitely better than Dee's Italian, and seeing his thought processes, he quickly became someone to respect and sympathise with - not a tragicomic character at all. Later it became clear that even the hotel name had been a calculated decision by someone who knew exactly what it meant.

By the end, Pasquale was my favourite - a strong character who did the right thing whatever it cost him. I was so pleased that he and Dee had a happy ending.

After all that I think my question is, did you expect readers to see him in that way at first?

Then book has a bittersweet feel - there's an awful lot of talent going to waste, one way and another. Were you wanting to say something about the experience of being a creative person? Its that the predominant experience of being an artist, in your view?

There are lots of twists and turns in the book and different types of storytelling. Did you know how they were all going to fit together before you started out? Did you know how it was going to end?

I really enjoyed the book. Thanks, Gransnet! I loved the idea of the Hotel Adequate View. Where did that come from?

The satire is very powerful in the book. Did you ever worry that it was taking over? Michael Deane's autobiography is a great piece of comic writing, but the trouble with comedy is that it runs away with character and I felt as he became more monstrous he also became less believable. is that a danger for the comic, satirical novelist?

Have you been surprised by the success of the book - I think it was in the bestseller lists in the US for months? Has that changed your life?

The book is full of different voices and genres of writing. Is that why it took so long? And was it fun to write? Were you every worried that it wouldn't gel into a coherent whole?

Pasquale is the most sympathetic character in the book in many ways and yet he is the only one not trying to write a book or make a movie or become some kind of creative genius. Were you saying in effect that all creative people are to a greater or lesser extent risible?

Hi Jess. The book took you 15 years to write, I read somewhere. Did you publish other books in the meantime? Is it very different from, say, 10 years ago? Do you think all books should have such a long gestation period?!

I really enjoyed Beautiful Ruins, which is very romantic and cinematic and lush - and of course, is all about the movies. Did you always have in mind that it would be made into a film? Would you rather a 1960s type film or a 2013 type film? And how is it going?

Hi Jess,
How do you think your years as a journalist have impacted on your writing style? Were any of your characters or stories based on people you met?
And I really enjoyed the book!

I was delighted to recieve my copy of this book and am only sorry I have not quite inished it before the Q&A deadline. I am really enjoying the book but life has been getting in the way somewhat.

Like others I found the toing and froing between characters and time scale a little frustrating at first but realised quite quickly that it actually helps the story to develop. The passages from the sixties have their own pace as does the war-time section and the hectic pace of the life for Claire is all in keeping with the way lifestyles have changed within that time.

I should like to ask Jess whether the book was written in the sequence it appears or were the different periods written in turn and then integrated? Indeed, I have often wondered how authors set about including backstory and this seems quite an extreme example.

As a I had a relative served in Italy during the last war I found the insight I received into the life of the time particularly of interest and wondered if there were a similar connection for the author.

I'm not sure I would have picked this up in the book shop but that would have been my loss as I really enjoyed it. The characters in the book were so different but each one was described really well. At our book club there are often comments about characters being very shallow. This couldn't be said about the people in this book. I hope we will take it on as one of our reads for the next 'term'.