Really enjoyed this. Back and forth in time between a quaint Italian coastal village in 1962 to present day Hollywood, the story follows a lonely young innkeeper in Porto Vergogna ("Port of Shame", a village that pales in comparison to Italy's nearby Cinque Terre), a Hollywood ingenue, a flashy film producer, American war vets and a few famous players whose names I won't divulge here. I expected a very light story, but it is quite heartwarming-- at times sad-- as well. I have just purchased Jess Walter's other book, The Financial Lives of the Poets, based on how much I enjoyed Beautiful Ruins (and on the recommendations of others).