One Summer Day In Rome by, Mark Lamprell
February Book Club Discussion
I’ve read this book before and was happy it was voted as one of the book for the book club! The story follows three sets of couples who can be described as the beginning, middle, and end of love. Each couple is brought to Rome for one day for their own reasons and their story unfolds in a way they didn’t expect. The story is narrated by Rome itself, as he helps guide each couple to their destiny. The story reads as a love letter to Rome and also to love itself. I found it very charming and funny and thoroughly enjoyed reading the story.
Main Characters:
The Narrator: Quantum Mechanic and the Genius of Love (pg. 2). The essence of Rome. I feel he can be considered a character as well, as he drives the story forward and plays a hand in everyone’s destiny.
{Beginning of Love}
Alice: An art student in NYC. Encouraged by her professor to do something “voosh” travels to Rome alone for a day before meeting up with her fiance in Florence.
August: An English college student visiting Rome with his schoolmates. Meets Alice at the airport and is instantly attracted to her.
{Middle of Love}
Meg & Alec: A middle aged couple living in Los Angeles. Parents of 2 teens, each sucessful in their jobs. Meg has brought them to Rome on a mission to find a particular tile she wants for a home reno. Their relationship has been a bit shaky.
{End of Love}
Constance & Lizzie: Widow and sister of Henry. Have come to Rome from London according to Henry’s wishes to have his ashes scattered in the city he loves.
Discussion Questions:
Discussion: Instagram Live, 2/27 6:30pm PST
Answer some of the questions below in the comment section and let’s get a discussion going! These are also the questions we’ll be discussing on the Instagram Live/Book Club Meeting. I’ll leave my answers here after the Live.
1. Who was your favorite character? Whose story line did you resonate with the most?
My Answer: My favorite character was the narrator! I felt like he made the book so charming. I loved his passion for Rome and the funny little things he’d say. I resonated with Meg and Alec the most as that’s the phase of love we are coming up on next and it was served as a warning story for me!
2. Which phase of love do you find the most exciting: beginning, middle, end. Why?
My Answer: The beginning for sure! All the butterflies and excitement; *sigh*. It’s the best! That being said, I do like the comfort level of the middle though and it is always possible to recreate that butterfly feeling!
3. The narrator describes Rome saying, “No one leaves her unaltered. Part of you always loves her.” (pg 1) Which city is like that for you?
My Answer: Paris!!! Paris stirs so much passion and excitement in me! I always feel so inspired and just amazing being there.
4. What do you think of starting each chapter with a quote? Did you have a favorite? Did it give you insight into the chapter?
My Answer: I have a quote obsession so I loved it! Here’s one of my faves:
“We always deceive ourselves twice about the people we love – first to their advantage, then to their disadvantage.” – Albert Camus
I did feel it gave insight into the chapter, but it was very subtle and I only felt that way reading it the second time around.
5. Children often seem to be more in tune with themselves than adults. Think back to how Alice had an affinity for colors as a child. Did you have any special talents or peculiarities that you embraced as a child and let go of as an adult?
My Answer: I used to follow my instincts and my gut so much more than I do now and I was often right! With age came a lot of second guessing myself.
6. What is something “voosh” that you’ve done or would like to do?
My Answer: I’d love to leave real life behind and travel without responsibilities for 6 months! Is that voosh or a dream?
7. Most individuals in a relationship are completely different people. They experience the world differently and have different perspectives. Think back to when Meg and Alec were going to Rome (pg. 21). They weren’t even on the same page with something as small as the reason why Alec agreed to go. How can you take all those differences and make it lead to a more well rounded life together rather than tearing you apart?
My Answer: We are working on improving our communication and also seeing the other person’s difference as a strength for us.
8. As August asks Alice, “how do you know you’re in love with someone enough to want to marry them?” (pg. 173)
My Answer: I think it’s a combo of a checklist and also magic and voosh. Love and passion have to be there, but logic needs to exist as well. I think it’s fine to be different, as long as core values are the same.
9. Alec spent a night with Stephanie to realize he loved only Meg and Henry had a brief affair with Gina. Do you think infidelity is inevitable of the course of a lifetime with someone?
My Answer: I don’t know if I’d say infidelity is inevitable, but mistakes are definitely inevitable. I think part of sharing a life with someone is loving them unconditionally and working through whatever happens.
10. When Alice wanted to do something bold, she thought of herself as “New Alice” to muster up the courage. When she would get nervous, she would attribute that to, “Old Alice”. Have you ever had an alter ego like that or felt your personality was split?
My Answer: I’m a Gemini so my personality is always split 😆 As far as an alter ego, I’ve never had one, but I’ve always thought about it!
11. Alec and Meg have several moments in which they identify parts of what has gone wrong in their marriage. It’s all a series of small actions and events that eventually pile up into something big. As they both put it, they stopped taking care of each other. What lessons did you learn from their journey together? What can couples do to prevent this from occurring or is it just a natural progression of a relationship?
My Answer: Hearing each other! People always say what they need, what they like, what they are missing, but sometimes their partners don’t listen and so they stop saying it. Hearing each other’s feedback and then implementing it is so important!
12. Towards the end her journey, Constance reflects on love and thought about how Henry would say, “people left but love remained” (pg. 257). How did you interpret this quote? How was this statement reflected through the course of the novel?
My Answer: I think love lasts so much longer than any person! The love they shared and the impact it has on a person lasts a lifetime!
Jennifer Ferreira says
1. My favorite character was Lizzie – dealing with the deatb of a brother but being strong fkr her friend/ sister-in-law.
2. I think beginning is most exciting, middle is hard and end would be hardest.
3. So far, for me, that is Rome. But there is much more to explore and I reserve the right to change.
4. For me, I didn’t notice either way
5. I loved to act, write and dance as a kid. I performed whenever I could.
6. Voosh for me would be climb Kilimanjaro
7. Play to each others strengths. Where one is weaker the other may be stronger.
9. I personally could not get past an affair. My father had one on my mother and left her with 4 kids to raise solo. Just non negotiable for me
10. No alter ego here. Other than I am a gemini. Haha
11. Communication is key. Don’t bottle things up or set aside-deal with them before the small things become big
12. I interpreted as – When you lose someone the kove you felt for them is not gone. Love cannot die.
Sorry for quick replies trying to get it in before the live
happilyeveradventures says
Love the idea of playing to each other’s strengths! That’s something we are working on, rather than getting frustrated with each other.
Haha I’m a gemini too, so I feel you!
Alexandra Meadows says
I’m so bummed I was not able to attend the book club meeting!! Here are my thoughts:
-I liked this book! The way I described it to my husband is, “It’s kind of like Love Actually but in Rome.” I said that when I had only just started reading, but I assumed there was going to be something that would connect all of them. The book was a little slow at first (for me) and was kind of hard to get into. It wasn’t until Meg/Alec got robbed that I really started to get into it. After that happened, I couldn’t put the book down and finished it in about a day.
-I loved, loved, LOVED the relationship between Constance and Lizzie. I just thought it was sooo sweet how close they are as sister-in-laws, but also they are old friends. I, myself, am very close with my husband’s sisters and hope that’s how my relationship with them is when we are old. I also loved how Lizzie was so patient, empathetic, and understanding of Constance’s turmoil and emotions with losing her husband and moving forward. I also want to know if anything happens with Horatio and Lizzie!
– The Alice/August story was nice. This was my favorite story at the beginning of the book and then was my least favorite at the end of the book. I wished she would have just been honest with Daniel instead of totally ditching him and leaving him hanging, TWICE. The dude didn’t do anything wrong. He deserved to know the truth. I thought it was pretty selfish of Alice. I really enjoyed reading August/Alice’s dialogue though (e.g., all the British quips and cheekiness on August’s end).
– Alec/Meg’s story was an interesting one to see unfold, but Meg really annoyed me the entire book. I just kept thinking how spoiled and selfish she was. Everything bad that happened to them in those two days was pretty much her fault! She kept telling the taxi driver to go faster (just to irritate Alec) and they got in a car wreck. She kept perseverating on the tile and wanted to follow the cross-eyed guy to find the shop owner. She had no concern for her husband when she left and went to the gypsy camp and then after he found the bag with the tile she totally shunned him. She was just rude. I kept thinking “No wonder her husband hates her. She’s kind of a bitch and treats him like crap.” After the whole debacle where he leaves her and comes back, she barely took any responsibility for her behavior. When she did (a little bit), it seemed insincere. He’s the one that wanted to reconcile and owned up to his flaws.
– The tile piece of the story was really cool and now I want to see this tile! I loved all the essences of Rome interspersed throughout the story. From describing the piazzas to eating fresh pasta to Roman architecture. Super cool.
1) Favorite character – I loved Lizzie! I just think she’s such a supportive sister-in-law/friend.
2) Most exciting phase of love – Technically, I think it’s the beginning. However, I don’t have a lot of married couples in my life who are super old and still love each other the way Constance loved Henry, so I was inspired by that story and hope that’s how my husband and I are one day.
3) No one leaves Rome unaltered – In the States, I would say New York City. It’s magical and I always feel like liberated when I’m there. The same goes for Lugano, Switzerland, but mostly because it’s calming, old, and beautiful.
4) Starting each chapter with a quote – I liked this, although sometimes I skipped them. My favorite was the Jane Austen quote about being a good friend.
5) Special talents as a kid – Yes, I have a million of these. I used to sing, paint, sew, play piano, craft, and so many other things as a kid and now I don’t do any of it 🙁 Need to get back into it.
6) Voosh – Definitely just quit my life and move to Europe for a year or two!
7) Gosh, this is hard. I think being honest with each other and effective communication skills. I also think it was good for them to take this trip together. I’m not sure how much alone time they spent with each other prior to this trip in this stage of their life. I love going on trips with my husband alone. It forces us to have constant communication, see new things, and have new experiences.
8) How do you know you’re in love with someone enough to want to marry them? – I think this is different for everyone. For me, I had never felt anything for a guy the way I felt about my husband when we first met. As we got to know each other, we found we had many common interests and values. It was a win-win.
9) Infidelity – Absolutely not. I agree with you, Lena, that mistakes are inevitable and you just have to work through the dark stuff.
10) New Alice/Old Alice – Yes, I have an uninhibited version of myself that often comes out around certain people that have known me a really long time, where I am sillier and have more energy.
11) Again, I think spending more time together forces you to talk about things. When my husband and I get into a fight, we have a rule that no one gets to leave (which is what I usually want to do). We both stay until it’s worked out.
12) People left but love remained – The love that two people have for each other leaves a legacy even after they are gone.
Thanks for a great read, Lena! Looking forward to more book club discussions!