Book Club Questions for Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
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The gals have spent this freezing month reading a book set in warmer climates:
Beautiful Ruins
by Jess Walter. Grab your girls and discuss with our monthly JUGs book club discussion guide.
1. If you had to give the book a letter grade, what would you give?
2. Did you prefer the modern day story or the 1960s storyline?
3. Which character did you find the most sympathetic?
4. Besides Michael Deane, who was your least favorite character? Why?
5. What is the significance of the novel's title? (It was first used by a journalist to describe Richard Burton many years after his marriage to Taylor.) Who else, or what, are the "beautiful ruins"?
6. The overarching themes of the book are love, sacrifice, and dreams. Which had the most impact on the story?
7. Do you think the book would be different if it had been written by a woman?
8. What purpose did the story of the "Donner Party" serve within the novel?
9. Lastly, what actors would you choose to be in a film version of
Beautiful Ruins
?
- Cameron