katreadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
There were moments where I lost momentum in this book, but it was beautifully written. I enjoyed the subjects of this book particularly because I have twins, struggle frequently with insomnia, and love Rome, even though I have never been.
missdragon's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
4.0
The parenting part of this book is not relatable to me, the descriptions of Rome are really pretty, the way he talks about writing is really relatable and the way he describes anxiety is really accurate. Sometimes I felt like the writing made the same point very often, but the book also made me feel a sense of hope, and it was genuinely moving at points. Not as good as his fiction in my opinion, but still a very warm and comforting read.
lucri's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
madisonboboltz's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook throughout my trip to Italy. What really fascinated me though was learning about the early stages of him writing All the Light We Cannot See. When he talks about struggling to research and write the first draft while taking care of babies and living in a foreign country and not getting any sleep, I just wanted to go back in time and tell him “You can do it! You will win the Pulitzer!” 😂
juliana_aldous's review against another edition
5.0
This book should also include the word "Writing" in the title. This book is about being in Rome while writing your future Pulitzer Prize-Winning novel. Or not writing it because you are taking care of twins, suffering insomnia and oh, yes a Pope dies in there as well.
Here is a sample of Doerr on the Italian language and his twins learning to talk:
"Beneath the city that is the Italian language, there are huge underground cities, Italo-Dalmatian, Tuscan, Latin, Greek, and beneath them catacombs of Oscan and Umbrian and Sabine, lightless tunnels opening to caverns, ghosts and bones, crypts opening to still deeper, fainter tunnels, the echos of sentences in tribal languages that never had an alphabet in which to write them down. Slumbering tunnels of cuneiform, aquifers of hieroglyphics, razor-thin channels rising from Kurgan to Greek, Greek to Latin, Latin to Italian--the history of the world is compressed invisibly inside the words we say to each other in whatever language-mother, madre, mater, meter --the sounds Henry and Owen are trying to fit their mouths around."
Goddamn he's good.
Here is a sample of Doerr on the Italian language and his twins learning to talk:
"Beneath the city that is the Italian language, there are huge underground cities, Italo-Dalmatian, Tuscan, Latin, Greek, and beneath them catacombs of Oscan and Umbrian and Sabine, lightless tunnels opening to caverns, ghosts and bones, crypts opening to still deeper, fainter tunnels, the echos of sentences in tribal languages that never had an alphabet in which to write them down. Slumbering tunnels of cuneiform, aquifers of hieroglyphics, razor-thin channels rising from Kurgan to Greek, Greek to Latin, Latin to Italian--the history of the world is compressed invisibly inside the words we say to each other in whatever language-mother, madre, mater, meter --the sounds Henry and Owen are trying to fit their mouths around."
Goddamn he's good.
risabella's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the candid, simple reflection of a year in the life of Anthony Doerr. His brief memoir is full of vivid imagery and he is honest and frank in his observations.
His narration added a personal note, which I appreciated, after reading his novel, All The Light We Cannot See.
His narration added a personal note, which I appreciated, after reading his novel, All The Light We Cannot See.