Four Seasons in Rome
At the invitation of the American Academy, American writer Anthony Doerr moved to Rome for a year with his wife and newborn twins. In Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World, he chronicles the life of a writer, the life of new paren'thood, and tells the wonderful old story of Americans falling in love with Italy.
In America when strangers noticed the twins in their stroller the comment invariably was, “Well, you certainly have your hands full!” Imagine his relief when in Italy the comment invariably was, "How beautiful! What darlings! How blessed you are!"
Doerr is a visual, poetic writer and he vividly brings his Roman experience to life. Italian crows “have gray on their backs, as if they wear a sweater tied around their necks." Tomatoes “appear to give off light.”
Here is the view from his balcony as the sun breaks through the clouds: “Everything is radiant. Distant trees toss; faraway walls gleam. The mountains at the horizon have switched on like streetlights, stark and defined, giving way to still more distant ranges.”
The book left me with an appetite for more. I immediately sought out and was rewarded by Doerr's astonishing short stories.
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