Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

The recipient of an American Academy fellowship, Doerr, his wife, and their twin newborns are on their way to Rome for a year. Cultural isolation, the death of John Paul II, struggles to complete a novel, and the tales of first-time parenthood uniquely blend together as Doerr meanders his way through a one-year Roman holiday. Along the way, he meets Romans quick to praise his twins, Romans quick to prejudge an American, and Romans happy to share the secrets of their city with him. Set against this backdrop, Doerr finds it difficult to focus on the novel he plans on writing; instead, like so many other visitors, he falls for the Eternal City. For readers who have been to Rome, Doerr's reflections will leave them longing for a return trip. For those who have not, Doerr's stories of piazzas and pizzas will have them checking travel arrangements. Either way, this memoir is a wonderful combination of a writer's two dominant struggles: cultural identity and family. --Blair Parsons Copyright 2007 Booklist

Doerr is not an accomplished narrator: he has a narrow vocal range, drops his voice at the ends of sentences, and articulates words so carefully as to undermine the conversational flow of his fine writing. But all that said, the audio edition of this memoir is saved by his genuine and infectious sense of curiosity, awe, and wonder that is as evident in his voice as in his words. On the day his twins are born, Doerr is offered a grant to spend a year at the American University in Rome working on what will become his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "winning novel All the Light We Cannot See (2014). In Rome, while he and his wife are slugging through and delighting in their sons' first year of life, he falls in love with Roman history, historians, art, ancient sites, mountains, trees, and the neighbors and shopkeepers who befriend his family. A Scribner paperback. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

When Doerr wins the prestigious Rome prize, it allows his family, which includes his wife and their newborn twins, to move to Rome for a year to work on what would become his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, All the Light We Cannot See. Doerr and his family's explorations of Rome, their first foray into parenthood, and major world events coincide. And all of it becomes part of -Doerr's writing process. In this heartwarming and entrancing work, Doerr uses his formidable skill as a writer and reader to draw the listener into this specific time and place in his life. -VERDICT What a gift! Part love letter to Rome, part interior narrative, this look into a writer's process is so enjoyable listeners may find themselves booking tickets! Recommended. ["An elegant and informed snapshot of Rome that will provide armchair travelers, new parents, and aspiring writers with a memorable adventure": LJ 6/1/07 review of the Scribner hc.]-Judy Murray, Monroe Cty. Lib. Syst., MI © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A young novelist observes the Eternal City with a fresh eye. Doerr (About Grace, 2004, etc.) left Boise, Idaho, in November 2004, with his wife and six-month-old twin sons, to become a fellow at the American Academy. He is given a stipend, an apartment and a studio, where he can pursue whatever writing project he chooses. His just-begun novel remains untouched, however, as he finds himself coping with a strange new world. Doerr learns that only when one leaves home "can routine experience--buying bread, eating vegetables, even saying hello--become new all over again." He struggles valiantly with daily life in an apartment with no oven and confusing plumbing, streets with alarming traffic and neighborhood stores where he doesn't know the words for what he wants to buy--tomato sauce comes out as grapefruit sauce. His twins require enormous amounts of time and energy from both parents, and sleep constantly eludes him. He somehow maneuvers a twin stroller on and off buses and through the streets of Rome, exploring plazas, churches, even St. Peter's Square. The reader shares his panic when his wife falls ill and is hospitalized, and his wonder and joy as the twins begin to walk and talk. Through all the trials of domestic life in a foreign land, Doerr finds time to read Pliny and to record in beautifully crafted prose his impressions of the Pantheon, Pope John Paul's funeral, panhandlers, paintings, pollution, graffiti, piazzas, fountains, pine trees and starlings. Rome is, he writes, "a puzzle of astonishing complexity. It is an iceberg floating beneath our terrace, all its ballast hidden beneath the surface." At times, a babysitter frees the Doerrs to explore Rome (and later Umbria) on their own, and Doerr finds himself once again writing fiction. To call this a travel book is to sell it short; it is delightful, funny and full of memorable scenes. Don't leave for Rome without it. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The recipient of an American Academy fellowship, Doerr, his wife, and their twin newborns are on their way to Rome for a year. Cultural isolation, the death of John Paul II, struggles to complete a novel, and the tales of first-time parenthood uniquely blend together as Doerr meanders his way through a one-year Roman holiday. Along the way, he meets Romans quick to praise his twins, Romans quick to prejudge an American, and Romans happy to share the secrets of their city with him. Set against this backdrop, Doerr finds it difficult to focus on the novel he plans on writing; instead, like so many other visitors, he falls for the Eternal City. For readers who have been to Rome, Doerr's reflections will leave them longing for a return trip. For those who have not, Doerr's stories of piazzas and pizzas will have them checking travel arrangements. Either way, this memoir is a wonderful combination of a writer's two dominant struggles: cultural identity and family. ((Reviewed May 1, 2007)) Copyright 2007 Booklist Reviews.

On the day his twins were born, novelist Doerr got another big surprise: he won the prestigious Rome Prize. An account of his sojourn with famiglia in the Eternal City. With a three-city tour. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Acclaimed novelist and short story writer Doerr turns out a well-observed chronicle of his family's year in Rome, when he was a fellow at the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Doerr is a precise, lyrical writer who, dividing his book into seasons, captures in equal measures the wonder of the Italian countryside, the mind-boggling history of the Eternal City and the measured joys and trials of parenting twin baby boys. Upon their autumn arrival, it is the boys who most connect Doerr and his wife to their new city: "Grown men in suits stop and crouch over the stroller and croon. Older men in particular. Che carini. Che belli. What cuties. What beauties." In Spring, Doerr captures well the color and emotionof the vigil for the dying Pope John Paul II, providing insight into the man and his death: "More than three miles of artwork hang in the Vatican Museum and the pope could have any of it brought in front of him...Instead, he wants only to hear something read from the Bible in Polish." The memoir is full of other such rewarding passages, and anyone with fond memories of Rome will want to savor it slowly. Illustrations. (June) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.