Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr

I broke with habit and actually read about 30 reviews of Four Seasons in Rome on Amazon. I kept reading them because I was intrigued by the wide spectrum of opinions from "I loved it" to "it was a waste of time and money."  Those who trashed it were disappointed because it was not what they expected. Four Seasons in Rome is not a travelogue or a guide to Rome. It's not about Romans past or present. There's not even much about the food.

Instead it's a lyrical, elegantly written account of a talented American writer, winner of many prizes and grants, who is the recipient of yet another award. On the very day that his twin sons are born, Doerr receives a letter telling him of his good fortune. He has won the prestigious Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters-- a fairly substantial stipend and an apartment and writing studio in Rome for a year. He and his courageous wife decide to go for it.

Now, Mr. Doerr knows less than a handful of Italian words, nothing about Rome, and he's a brand new father. Oh, and he is supposed to be working on his next novel. So he is often confused, sometimes lost, usually exhausted, and occasionally really frustrated.  But he is also fine person with a generous heart, honest and open about his feelings and experiences, curious about the world and fascinated by nature.

It's a pleasure to spend time reading about his year in Rome. I loved walking along with him as he wanders the frenetic streets and quiet back lanes of this ancient city with his little boys in their double stroller. I enjoyed the fact that his impressions are fresh and not colored by prior research, knowledge, or expectations. Doerr writes about his experiences in Rome not about "the Roman experience."

He writes about the joys and anxieties of parenthood, the pleasures and perplexities of life in a city as vibrant and bustling as Rome with its layers and layers of history and culture. He writes about the reactions of ordinary people to Pope John Paul's death and about his Filipina babysitter. He includes excerpts from his reading of the ancient Pliny's Natural History and talks about his terror when his wife gets ill.

In short, Doerr lets us into his world, his heart, and his mind as he navigates unfamiliar territory during his year abroad. Given the incredible gift of a year to nurture his writing, he shares that gift with us, allowing us to come along and see what it was really like.

I am firmly among those who loved this book. It's charming and real and a pleasure to read. It has even made me long for Rome, a city I haven't spent nearly enough time in. I think a year would be perfect.