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A review by deecreatenola
Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World by Anthony Doerr
3.0
Hard to rate. The writing is, of course, beautiful. Doerr knows how to put a sentence together. And you see in this book that he really works at that. Writing for him is no task to be finished. Done is not better than perfect for him. I applaud that in some respects, but I found myself wanting more in this memoir.
How did he get to a place in life where (a) he was nominated anonymously for this year-long fellowship in Rome and (b) he has the luxury to pick up and do that and (c) while there labor over words such that in one year's time he finishes a single short story?
I didn't know of Doerr before All the Light We Cannot See, so maybe his books were big enough best sellers that this was not a big lift. Maybe his wife had a job that supported his writing up to this point, but we know so little of her even though she is there throughout the book.
That, in fact, is my biggest complaint. Doerr's wife Shauna is never fleshed out. She is a cardboard cutout of a wife, always in the background taking care of the children. Yes, he does, too, but we learn nothing about Shauna. Did she have a career she left behind? What does she like to do? What are their interactions like? Did they - in their insomnia and twins-fueled delirium argue, disagree, or have any kind of interaction where we can see Shauna's expression? The only real sense I get of her is when she becomes ill from exhaustion and dehydration.
A little backstory would've helped. Did they always live in Boise? What led up to this?
I do have a better sense of Rome. The sights, the smells, the layout, the beauty and the grit. I have a better idea of how the hill towns surround Rome. Life in an Italian city, all of its love of living along with the challenges. You feel life here, life well lived.
How did he get to a place in life where (a) he was nominated anonymously for this year-long fellowship in Rome and (b) he has the luxury to pick up and do that and (c) while there labor over words such that in one year's time he finishes a single short story?
I didn't know of Doerr before All the Light We Cannot See, so maybe his books were big enough best sellers that this was not a big lift. Maybe his wife had a job that supported his writing up to this point, but we know so little of her even though she is there throughout the book.
That, in fact, is my biggest complaint. Doerr's wife Shauna is never fleshed out. She is a cardboard cutout of a wife, always in the background taking care of the children. Yes, he does, too, but we learn nothing about Shauna. Did she have a career she left behind? What does she like to do? What are their interactions like? Did they - in their insomnia and twins-fueled delirium argue, disagree, or have any kind of interaction where we can see Shauna's expression? The only real sense I get of her is when she becomes ill from exhaustion and dehydration.
A little backstory would've helped. Did they always live in Boise? What led up to this?
I do have a better sense of Rome. The sights, the smells, the layout, the beauty and the grit. I have a better idea of how the hill towns surround Rome. Life in an Italian city, all of its love of living along with the challenges. You feel life here, life well lived.