Four Seasons In Rome by Anthony Doerr

 

The Rome Prize is one of the most desired in literature.  It comes with a stipend and a year in Rome.  Anthony Doerr found out that he was the recipient of the Rome Prize the day he and his wife welcomed twin boys into their family.  

Off they went, not knowing Italian and with two twins in tow.  This is a memoir by Doerr of that year.  At first, they were like most new parents times two, little to no sleep, wondering how they would handle their babies.  But little by little, they got into the swing of being parents and found a nanny to help so that they could explore a bit.  They took long walks with the boys in their stroller and found the Italian people entranced by babies.  

Much went on that year.  The current Pope died and a new one was elected.  The funeral for the Pope was the largest in the world with people lining up for over twenty-four hours to file past the body and celebrities and world leaders coming from everywhere to pay respect.  Then there were the monuments and churches, the art and everything that Rome has to offer.  The boys learned to crawl and then to walk.  They all survived the burning hot Roman summer and learned enough Italian to get around and converse in stores and restaurants.  This is a charming book that gives the reader an insight into Rome and new parenthood and is recommended for memoir readers.