Beautiful Ruins is a story about human connection. It weaves the lives of a multitude of characters together as though they are stories that “go in every direction, but sometimes […] join into one” (62). More than anything, the characters are brought together by the feeling desire. Desire is the most integral, instinctual feeling humans have. In his pitch, Shane astutely notes, “Every love is the same love, and it is overpowering—the wrenching grace of what it is to be human” (129-30). In this statement, Shane reveals that human beings’ capacity to love, to desire, is what makes them human beings in the first place. If people are stories, then every story is “a love story” (325), just as Michael Deane suggests in his final appearance in the novel. Through Beautiful Ruins, Walter examines the nature of desire and demonstrates how it brings people together.

Being humans, the many characters in Beautiful Ruins all desire something, and—often—their desires change. In the beginning, Pasquale wants his village to take part in “il boom” (2) and become a tourist destination, but then his motivations change. He falls in love with Dee and desires her. Then, his desire realigns again when he has an

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