Jess Walter has been called “a ridiculously talented writer” and nothing in Beautiful Ruins will dispel that fact. It’s his most ambitious work so far…far more ambitious than his very good Financial Life of Poets.

The theme: impossible goals and what we do to reach them. Most of the key characters meet at an Italian beach near the cold Liguarian Sea in Italy at a pensione called The Hotel Adequate View at the time when the movie Cleopatra is being filmed. They will end up at an equally unlikely destination of Sandpoint, Idaho, many decades later, but first, there is a stop at a Hollywood movie studio back lot.

The cast of characters include the young Italian innkeeper who dreams of turning his rocky cliff into the newest desirable tourist destination; the slender blonde American starlet who shows up at his pensione; an overly Botoxed-and-lifted cynical film producer; his attractive young assistant who is starting to believe that life must hold more for her; and others who will later appear. In his or her own way, none of them is willing to settle for the ordinary; each has his or her own vision of making a dream come true.

Into this mix is added Richard Burton – yes, THE Richard Burton – with a surprisingly important fictional role. He looms larger than life, his foibles (drinking and womanizing) readily on display. This is NOT Dick Jenkins, the real flesh-and-blood man (Burton’s birth name); it’s the superstar we all believe we “know” from the tabloids.

If there’s a flaw, it’s one of the major characters who shows up in the second half (no spoilers); the portrait seems too derivative. The book is also not for anyone who prefers linear progressions. This one swings back and forth between past and future, various character perspectives, and is punctuated with snippets from memoirs, screen pitches, and the first chapter of one character’s book. The ending may feel rushed to some; actually, I believe it’s quite intentional to show the compression of time and the integration of the characters. Ultimately, it’s a hopeful book about flawed, ordinary people who somehow find their way to a type of redemption. 4.5 stars.