Beautiful Ruins

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2012

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Study Guide

Before You Read

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-13

Chapters 14-17

Chapters 18-21

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Essay Topics

The phrase “we want what we want” appears multiple times throughout the text. What does this phrase mean in terms of the overall theme of the universality of desire? How is want distinguished from need?

Compare Pasquale to Richard Burton. Who is the true romantic leading man in Beautiful Ruins?

Research behind-the-scenes information on the production of Cleopatra. Is Michael Deane’s account of the production in Chapter 15 an account based in truth or bitter libel?