Beautiful Ruins

by Jess Walter

"Pasquales cleared his throat. 'I am sorry for you disturb. You eat antipastiand a soap, yes?'

'Soap?"

Pasquales felt angry that he hadn't talked his aunt out of making the ciuppin. 'Yes. Is a soap. With fish and vino. A fish soap?'" pg. 44

“Pasquale was horrified to find that, for dinner, his aunt Valeria was making her signature ciuppin, a soup of rockfish, tomatoes, white wine, and olive oil. 'You expect me to take your rotten fish-head stew to an American cinema star?'" pg. 44

"They walked down an alley and through a gate marked CENTURIONS. And sure enough, inside the high fence, cosutmed Roman centurions were standing everywhere, smoking, eating panini, reading newspapers, talking to one another." pg. 134

"There was a boy, but I doubt he's alive. No, when this is over I will care for my mother. She is a widow whose three sons were taken from her. When she's gone, maybe I'll get one you Americans to take me to New York City. I'll live in the Empire State Building, eat ice cream every night in fancy restaurants, and grow fat.'

'I can take you to Wisconsin. You can get fat there.'" pg. 85

"Four hours later, the man responsible for impregnating Dee Moray had drunk all but a few tugs of both bottles of wine and had stopped for a third. Pasquale couldn't believe how much wine the man coud handle." pg. 178