Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World

I have really enjoyed the opportunity to read Anthony Doerr's Four Seasons in Rome this term. If Robert Hughes' book on Rome is seen as something of an objective analysis of Roman history and culture, Doerr's book is a much more subjective reading experience. It's instantly engaging and welcoming to the reader, creating a rich sense of place with a narrative that feels often like poetry. There is no sense of anything other than an honest account of the Doerr's family experiences in Rome: no underlying cynicism or inflated sense of ego to get between the reader and the text. The author's gentle attitude is often expressing a profound sense of wonder not only of Rome itself, but, I would argue, his lovely family seen through the lens of Rome and the Roman people. One of my favorite passages is the following excerpt concerning his son; it really captures the purity of personal experience and thought conveyed within these pages.Swaddled in his Moses basket, wires trailing out the bottom, his monitor flashing green, green, green, his entire four-pound body motionless except his eyelids, it seemed he understood everything I was working so hard to understand: his mother's love, his brother's ceaseless crying; he was already forgiving me for my shortcomings as a father; he was the distillation of a dozen generations, my grandpa's grandpa's grandpa, all stripped into a single flame and stowed still-burning into the thin slip of his ribs. I'd hold him at the window and he'd stare out into the night, blue tributaries of veins pulsing in his neck, his big eyelids slipping down now and then, and it would feel as if tethers were falling away, and the two of us were gently rising, through the glass, through the trees, through interweaving layers of atmosphere, into whatever was beyond the sky. One aspect of the book that I particularly appreciate is the author's emphasis of understanding a place through the eyes of its people. He's not a simple tourist or traveller, he's experiencing Rome through the act of truly living there: mingling in the markets, strolling the ancient streets, speaking--or attempting to speak--with its residents, and, in short, truly living in the place. I know my upcoming visit will be but a fraction of the length of his, but I hope I may leave Rome with a much greater sense of what this city is all about when my time comes to head home. Like Doerr, I don't see most of this knowledge coming from being a tourist per se, but as something along the lines of a (very) short-term resident.

Anthony Doerr can paint a scene with anyone. His careful word choices, understanding of the human psyche, and his ability to vary his writing cadence to fit the mood, are all superbly on display in his Pulitzer-Prize winning novel “All the Light We Cannot See.”Add to that list dry humor, which he combines with all the above in “Four Seasons in Rome.” Watch him, and feel for him, as he tries to order groceries in his beginner’s Italian. See Roman grandmothers fawn over the twin boys in his stroller as he and his wife walk the crowded streets.To say that Doerr is a “writer’s writer,” means that people who want to hone their own story-writing skills should read him carefully and pay attention to his use of the language. Soak in his work until it oozes back into ones’ own writing.That was my purpose in exploring this, Doerr’s project to show us the Eternal City in his words.One of my favorite passages is brilliant in its simplicity. It is Doerr’s description of what the family did at the 260-year old Fountain of Trevi, replete with its many statues and carvings of mythological figures, and famous to many Americans from the movies “Three Coins in the Fountain” and “Roman Holiday” (even Sabrina the Teenaged Witch made a movie at this fountain…)“We lean over the rail; we hurl pennies at the gods.”Crafting great fiction was not Doerr’s intent here. “Four Seasons in Rome” reads like a private journal, edited intentionally for public consumption. The Doerr family’s four seasons in Rome were a significant time full of challenge and discovery. Doerr shares that significance with us. His time in Rome was marked by a papal death and coronation; a brutally hot summer, friendly Romans, and occasional reminders that Yankees aren’t necessarily all that popular even in countries such as Italy that are among the U.S.’s closest allies.“Home base” during the Doerr’s year in Rome was a hillside apartment with easy access to sweeping views of Rome. The city comes to life through Doerr’s descriptions of what he can see from the balcony; of the fountains, the food. The crowds, cathedrals, and crazy traffic.Doerr sprinkles his journal with his own inner thoughts about life, family and existence as he ponders and reacts to the spectacle of Rome. These musings can be thought of as connection points to his novels, which explore similar themes. He presents his own ideas about God and ultimate reality gently; often in the form of questions rather than answers. It serves to give this work depth. For instance:“If we creatures are on earth only to extend the survival of our species, if nature only concerns itself with reproduction, if we are supposed to raise our kids to breeding age and then wither and slide toward death, then why does the world bother to be so astoundingly, intricately, breathtakingly beautiful?”Crazy, disorganized, delicious and delirious Rome is the most memorable beautiful thing that emerges from this journal. Unlike his native Boise, Rome is something that could not possibly happen in America. That is both America’s blessing, and Americans’ misfortune.

Easily one of the best, most lyrical memoirs of a specific time that I have read. Simply not true that I love it only because it's set in my favorite place in the world....Doerr's writing is so evocative, it transports you to each season he loves through.Like a trip to Rome from your couch.

Doerr, who wrote, “All the Light We Cannot See”, wins an award to spend a year in Rome writing. His wife has just given birth to twins and their move is definitely an entertaining one.Reading this book made me feel as if I was in Rome. His descriptions are beautiful and it was just lovely to imagine all the sights, sounds, and aromas. The book is sprinkled with wonderful moments throughout. Towards the end, however, I felt that it was becoming a bit aimless and it started to drag, but I enjoyed it overall.Some of my favorite quotes:“If it ever begins to snow, we should run to the Pantheon, because to see snowflakes come drifting through the hole at the top of the dome is to change your life forever.”“To spend a day walking the streets in Rome, we’re told, is to inhale the equivalent of eighteen cigarettes.”“The world is not a pageant: beauty is as unquantifiable as love. Geography is not something that can be ranked.”“Roma, they say, non basta una vita. One life is not enough.”“The only way to fall asleep is to stop trying to fall asleep. Sleep is a horizon: the harder you row toward it, the faster it recedes.”

Glowing with insight, feeling, and unburnished openness this soliloquy of a year in Italy as new parents of twins with a writer’s eye is transcendent.

Four seasons in Rome#anthonydoerrLet me start by saying , this is not your typical novel . This is not the novel to just read through the paragraphs and be done with , rather , this is the novel to sit within , to come heads down and cherish . This will definitely be lingering on your forthcoming days for many a moments.A writer gets a tremendous opportunity to move to Rome for a year : only with one condition - to write a book on Rome . Wow !!!So , he moves 12 hours after being a proud father of twins in a completely new location , new city , new culture and a foreign language to encounter .But this book is not about his struggles in Rome with upbringing of his twins or wife's illness or adapting to new customs . This book , on the other hand , is another door to the wonderful ancient city , that is Rome . Not a travel book , but a vivid description of life in Rome as scribbled by a tourist .You are definitely falling in love with Rome , and I will not be surprised , if you nourish the desire of enchanting yourself with the wonders of Rome one day .Stay away from the book if you haven't yet read Anthony Doerr , because , his style of reading will hit you hard if you are the first time guest to his writing .#mykindofreview 8.3/10

After reading "All the light we cannot see" I was disappointed with this one.

I liked the abundance and variety of vocabulary, the description of a (couple of) foreigner(s)’life immersed in a new country for one year, the intertwining of very far away past and present. I also recommend this book to people wanting to have an idea of Rome; the short story the narrator says he finished writing can be read in The Memory Wall.

A beautifully written, detailed, romantic, perceptive and intriguing book. A captivating read and full of intelligent observations and heartfelt experiences both of parenthood and life as as interloper in Rome. Doerr brings the city and its people to life in a genuinely sincere and exposing portrait of life in Italy and all it's challenges, beauty and complexity. I can't wait to read it again!

I loved the images of Rome - better than any photographs. I could feel it, smell it, taste it. His ability to describe the fatigue and joy of coping with his twins, while living in a place totally foreign to him, was outstanding. I didn't want the book to end.