I recently read All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I thought it was magical, that the writing was luminous, and that the story was wonderful and heartbreaking. My cousin gave me that book and went on to recommend this one. She mentioned that much of it was about being the new parents of twins, something with which I have no experience. I chose a lifestyle without children and have never regretted it.
The day after his wife gave birth to twin boys, Anthony Doerr received an invitation for a year-long fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. He accepted and they packed up their six-month old twins, time having elapsed, and moved to an apartment in Rome. Neither of the adults spoke Italian and, of course, the twins hadn't even mastered English. Brave or insane, I think I know which I think they are.
Through the haze of sleeplessness, Doerr describes stumbling through their first days in Rome. They need to find the nearest grocers, fruit sellers, bakeries, and learn how to negotiate Roman customs. You don't stand at the back of the line waiting your turn. You shoulder your way to the front to call out your order.
Apparently, Italians have a universal love of babies, especially twins. Old people, children, they all smile, say how beautiful they are, and want to touch the babies. Despite having the lowest birth rate of all Europe, he says, he's constantly congratulated on having produced twins.
They find a babysitter so they can occasionally go off to explore Rome and Umbria by themselves. I think we all know how gorgeous the countryside in Italy is, whether from personal experience or movies. Rome is chaos, but layered by thousands of years of human life. At times he seems overwhelmed by the ghosts of all the people who have lived where he and his family are living.
If this sounds like the babies are the centerpieces of the book, they are. Doerr speculates on many aspects of Roman life, how they seem to accept death better than Americans do and, thus, live life more fully, more in the moment. He finds a set of Pliny's Natural History and reads it during his stay. Pliny, who I haven't read, seems much like Herodotus, who I have read, with their wild and wise observations.
In the world of coincidences, Doerr was in Rome, living near the Vatican, during Pope John Paul II's last illness and death. We here in Philadelphia are about to go into literal lockdown mode for the visit of Pope Francis. Two very different situations, but similar in the adoration and massing of the crowds.
The book is fairly short, about 200 pages. It's interesting, although his descriptions sometimes seemed inappropriate for this sort of book, a bit over the top, perhaps better for a novel. And it confirmed that I made the right decision about children!
Italy is an experience. And...just like here in the U.S., the southern folks operate rather differently than the northern folks (that occurs in Germany too). And Rome...Rome is sort of a world all of its own. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I used to travel a lot, but we've only spent a day in northern Italy, traversing the Brenner Pass and on the scary roads through the alps to Switzerland. We also spent a wonderful week in Venice, but we've never been to Rome or southern Italy. Travel holds no delight for me these days. I'm glad we got to travel as much as we did in the 1980s. I love reading travel narratives and watching travel shows.
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ReplyDeleteI've never been to Italy, partly because I have a feeling that if I did go there I wouldn't want to come back! I agree about the people in north and south Germany being completely different, of course it goes the same for north and south Scotland and north and south England , n and s Ireland ....
ReplyDeleteThat must be true almost everywhere, especially in big countries. Maybe it's tribal? There's a big difference between east and west and north and south and the middle in the US, too.
DeleteDoerr' wife should get a medal for being willing to pack up 6-month-old twins and move to Rome! I do not once regret not having children. It would be neat to go to Rome one day though. Good luck with the Pope's visit!
ReplyDeleteDoerr's wife should get a medal - or they should both have been committed! It's difficult enough to be in a country whose language you don't understand. To be there with two infants, prone to all the routine infant sicknesses, is just crazy.
DeleteThe streets and highways in Philadelphia are being closed as I write. Jack and I were just puzzling over the little map in the paper showing where no cars were allowed, no pedestrians without being screened were allowed. It's madness!
I wasn't a fan of All the Light, but this sounds like something I would love. I think John would too. His uncle and aunt spent a year at the American Academy in the 1960s. Haven't been to Italy in almost a decade. Must remedy that.
ReplyDeleteIt is an interesting book. Never having been a parent, I couldn't for the life of me imagine moving to another country with very young twins. Seems like some circle of Hell or foolishness, but to each his own. We spent a wonderful week in Venice several years ago, and, in 1988, we made a lunchtime visit to a village in the Italian alps because I wanted to go over the Brenner Pass when we were driving from Innsbruck to Switzerland. We forgot about the twisty, scary alpine roads. What we thought would be a short hop into and out of Italy turned into a frightening all day (and part of the night) trip. I've never been to Rome and maybe I should remedy that. With John's connection to the American Academy, I think he'd like the book, too.
DeleteI wasn't a fan of All the Light, but this sounds like something I would love. I think John would too. His uncle and aunt spent a year at the American Academy in the 1960s. Haven't been to Italy in almost a decade. Must remedy that.
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