The Imperfectionists

This book takes place in Rome so I had to pick it up from the library although it turns out the city plays a very small part in the story. It is about a English-language newspaper in Rome over roughly a fifty-year period. The structure is a little unusual: each chapter focuses on a different individual with little connection between characters. This makes it sound like a collection of short stories, which I usually avoid like the plague, but it was written so well that the stories intertwined enough to make it engrossing. I found it easy to relate to many of the characters being an imperfect perfectionist myself.

Related reading

While in Rome, I tried to focus my reading on books of direct relevance. So among others, I read Room With a (Disappointing) View, The Leopard (an Italian classic that is more moody and introspective than I cared for), Heat (great fun in Mario Batali’s kitchen and footsteps), and numerous others. I’m just started reading Rubicon, about the final days of the Roman Republic.

Aside from Italian subject matter, I also picked up a book about the UN, Emergency Sex. It is more substantive than it sounds, covering the heady New World Order days, when the UN/US were prepared to send troops to support democracy and human rights in Somalia, Haiti, and elsewhere. Despite the titular, titling elements that helped it become a best seller, the book depressingly chronicles the deflation of this idealism.

Four Seasons in Rome

After visiting Jesse, Eileen, and Henry in Rome, we got to re-visit them, in a way, through this delightful book, which Jesse let me take home. Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr, describes a year with his family in Trastevere while he was supported by a Rome Prize Fellowship. The book has a story arc, but largely consists of observations on life and parenting, set against the backdrop of Rome, beautifully captured in quick, vivid sketches. The subtitle gives a flavor of this very pleasant read: "On twins, insomnia, and the biggest funeral in the history of the world."