The Seasons of Rome: A Journal [Paperback]

Paul Hofmann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1999

Delving into the daily life of a city that is in so many ways larger than life, Paul Hofmann steers us beyond the tourist board, revealing a fetish for Vatican gossip, the idiosyncrasies of the gattare (cat women who care for the city's stray cats), and the vagaries of the ever-volatile Roman government. As he winds through Rome's ancient streets, we listen with him to the voices of the city, past and present, and we discover with him the intricacies and the beauty of Italy's finest city.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A 30-year residence in Rome has given Hofmann, a former New York Times bureau chief, a special intimacy with the Eternal City. He writes about his adopted home with sophisticated humor and warmth and, with the adroitness of a seasoned travel writer (That Fine Italian Hand), he records the sorts of fine points of daily life in the city, its ambiance and the quirks of its inhabitants that bring it to life for both armchair travelers and visitors. This year-long journal interweaves his broad knowledge of the city's history and culture with gossip about the Vatican, the trials of parking a car, the preference of the elite for Filipino maids and nannies over Eritreans and his own pleasure in hot Roman summers, when most other good Romans flee, leaving the sweltering streets to the tourists?a time when the pope, from his cool aerie at Castel Gandolfo, offers prayers for those condemned to endure the city's heat. Having lived in the city off and on since 1938, when he fled his native Austria, Hofmann can recall life in Rome under the somewhat lesser evil of Mussolini, and he relates homely details of the city's trials then as well as tragic events. Throughout this entertaining and informative account, the author offers a uniquely personal appreciation of the colors, tastes and textures of everyday life in the city, and of the charm of living in an atmosphere where nothing seems so urgent that it cannot be surmounted by procrastination.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Living more than 30 years in Rome should give anyone a colorful perspective on life. Viennese-born Hofmann, long-time resident and chronicler of Italy and its people, uses his acquired point of view to create a delightful description of the Eternal City. Written much like Peter Mayle's popular A Year in Provence (LJ 4/1/90), the book records unusual characters and interesting situations in monthly diary entries from September 1994 through August 1995. This journal is about the urbane and gritty, giving the reader a sense of place not found in most guidebooks. The author of several books, including Roma (LJ 1/94) and That Fine Italian Hand (Holt, 1991), Hofmann offers much insight into this city and "the art of being Roman," which is its citizens' knack for dealing with a uniquely chaotic, anarchistic, and beautiful place.?David Nudo, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (March 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805055975
• ISBN-13: 978-0805055979
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,184 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars pleasant, but dull; pedestrian prose in diary format, September 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Seasons of Rome: A Journal (Paperback)

The author prefaces his diary of day-to-day life in Rome with the comment that some of his journalist friends wished that they lived in Rome. It struck me that his object then was to show that Rome was really just a dull, hodunk kind of town, not really worth pining for, and that the romantic perceptions of the tourist were all in their heads. (which is probably true)

So perhaps for this it is useful for those of us tourists who thought it would be nice to live in Rome. This book seems to say we are just as well off staying in whatever dull place we already inhabit.

The selections from the reviews overstate his writing. The writing most often reminded me of the musings of a columnist in some small town paper (it's definitely journalistic prose). His ability to express complexities seems limited. Lots of exclamation points in the first half of the book! (He tends to be bemused by certain aspects of life in Rome, but often resorts to expressing this bemusement with exclamation points.) At worst it struck me as pedestrian and irritatingly banal (but perhaps this is because he chose to write of the banal aspects of life in Rome).

The book is generally very topical, that is, current as of the late '90s. Some recurring content are reports on the pope's health and the days of Mussolini. The latter I found interesting, the former I did not. He also discusses the Etruscans here and there in a way that is insightful and knowledgeable.

On the whole, the book has a nice, low-key, meandering style, which I found readable and pleasant enough to finish. However, I don't think the author put a great deal of effort or thought into its content and design--it just follows the calendar year, like a diary.

I compare Hoffman's travel writing to that of Mathew Spender's Within Tuscany, which is lighter, richer, with more content, and which shows a remarkable facility with English that Hoffman's prose lacks.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get the feel of Rome, not a tour guide., January 11, 2005

By 

Greg Rabinovich (Rockville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Seasons of Rome: A Journal (Paperback)

As usual, before a trip to other country, I searched for a book that would give me a feel for the cities I visit, rather than a tour guide. This book excelled in this task and made my visit to Rome even fuller and more enjoyable. If you are looking for a book about Rome, its people, their habbits and a little glimpse into their rich history, this book is a rare find. The pace is calm, the subjects are simple, but the experience is great.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Vibrant Patchwork of Impressions, March 22, 2004

By 

Cynthia Snowden (Placitas, New Mexico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Seasons of Rome: A Journal (Paperback)

This is old-school journalism at its best. Hofmann takes the year as it comes, and, journal style, writes a few sketches every month. Having lived in Rome for thirty years, he knows a lot about it, and he draws on his wealth of information, memory, impressions, and connections to give vivid pictures of the holidays that roll around or reflections prompted by chance events. His range is delightful -- from the pope to Vespa-riding robbers, from diplomats to gypsies, from horse shows to opera, from the mafia to the gattare [stray cat feeders]. If he needs statistics, he knows how to get them and unobtrusively adds them. He is not coy about using addresses, so I read with a map. I knew little about Rome when I began this book, but by the end I felt I knew where things were, what the flavor of the city is. It's not a travel guide, it's deep background for a visit.