photo from amazon
I probably won't post about many books here, but this book was exceptional. By exceptional, I don't mean that it's the book that will come to NYT-bestseller popularity and find itself on every American's nightstand. Four Seasons in Rome is kind of a niche book. It's not fast-paced; it's more of a travel journal (perfect for those of us with persistent wanderlust and limited travel ability at the moment).
Anthony Doerr (a writer by profession) and his wife and their young twins move to Rome for a year because he has been awarded a writing studio there by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The book contains no fast-paced drama, only the simple stories of everyday life for Americans who have moved to a brand new world called Italy. It really is captivating, hearing how they discover their new city with childlike enchantment. From culture to food to language to reflection, Doerr describes their life in Rome--and I fell in love with Rome right along with them. Doerr's skill in writing and his incredibly unique ways of reflecting on the life around him make this book truly remarkable. "Without habit, the beauty of the world would overwhelm us. We'd pass out every time we saw--actually saw--a flower. Imagine if we only got to see a cumulonimbus cloud or Cassiopeia or a snowfall once a century: there'd be a pandemonium in the streets. People would lie by the thousands in the fields on their backs."
I hope you get a chance to read Four Seasons in Rome (or, better yet, listen to the audiobook--Doerr himself reads it).
My favorite line from the book? "Because every timidity eventually turns to regret."
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