One Summer Day in Rome

A Novel

By: Mark Lamprell

Narrated by: Steve West

"New York, Paris, London - every grand metropolis - has its own irresistible attraction, but Rome so swirls with stories of saints and sinners...lovers and fighters, that she compels you towards her, like gravity.... No one leaves her unaltered. Part of you always loves her. This is the place where passions are aroused, senses inflamed, and lovers fall into each other's arms. It all appears to unfold like magic, but I will tell you what really happens.... Come with me, if you will, and observe my labors."

Mark Lamprell's One Summer Day in Rome is an enchanting audiobook about three couples drawn irresistibly to Rome, narrated by the city itself. Alice, an art student in New York City, has come to Rome in search of adventure and inspiration before settling down with her steady, safe fiancé. Meg and Alec, busy parents and successful businesspeople from LA, are on a mission to find the holy grail, a certain blue tile that will make their home renovation complete - but soon it becomes clear that their marriage needs a makeover as well. Connie and Lizzie are women of a certain age - "Sometimes I look at my laughter lines and wonder what on earth could have been that funny" - who come from London to scatter the ashes of their beloved husband and brother. Both women are seemingly done with romance, but Rome has other ideas.

Brimming with wit and charm (and gelato), One Summer Day in Rome is the most delicious audiobook you will listen to this summer.

©2016 Mark Lamprell (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Memories of walking Rome

So many of the streets and sights in this book I have walked and seen. Interesting story and good narration. You can use this book as a guide to travel and enjoy Rome like a local.

One Summer Day seemed more like a year

I'm dense when it comes to allegory, and I suspect I missed the deeper meanings in this story. 6 people come to Rome for a day (or two) in pairs or solo looking for meaning and direction in the next chapter in their lives. And then the chapters pile up and take the listener through various twists and turns, as we join them on their quests.

The reading was fine, the writing was good; however, the characters didn't particularly interest me. At least it wasn't a long listen. It was not the light travelogue romance I expected. so that's probably my fault, and I'm sure many others will find the story and characters more interesting that I did.

For those who love and love Rome

I am not familiar with Rome and its treasures. For those who are,I am sure will enjoy the trip. The concept of the Roman "spirit" as narrator was clever. I enjoyed the chapters being introduced by quotes from renowned writers,artists, geniuses, and philosophers. The characters were charming. The denouement was a lovely twist of there are no coincidences. My only disappointment was the narrator's voice was rather monotone and I would sometimes doze off and have to remember where I was in the novel and go back.

Evocative of Rome in summer, but a contrived plot

Listening to this book was like being taken on a tour of the tourist spots of Rome. I often felt that I should open google maps and follow along with the route of the characters. It does capture the feel of a summer day in Rome. But the plot is very far-fetched, and I have to say that I did not ever feel engaged with the characters, even though they are meant to be sympathetic. If you love visiting Rome, it's worth the listen, but otherwise, not so much.

Totally enjoyable!

This was a refreshing journey with a rewarding end. Most interesting is the author's ability to convey honest emotions from both the male and female perspective. Any book that evokes real tears is a treasure as this one surprisingly does. You almost have a feeling that you've just spent a few days in Roma through Mr. Lamprell's vivid and detailed descriptions. What a thrill! I certainly look forward to reading/listening to more from this author. Grazie mille!

Loved this book!

This book is delightful. It is funny, entertaining, well written, compelling & weaves a wonderfully connected path between all the main characters & also an “inanimate object” (not to give anything away).
it is superbly read/performed by the narrator whose voice has a wonderful tone & he is spot on with the different accents & speech innuendos. I wish this author had more books on Audible.

OK travel romance novel

It's OK light fare and may be good before European vacation (esp Rome). But didn't like narrator much, particularly when he was doing the female voices - made each one sound dislikeable (annoying or simpering or standoffish) even if they were meant to be clever or attractive.

Boring

The plot was a bit slow the reader was too monotone and the story a bit bizarre

Interesting premise

I was engaged by the idea of the city of Rome itself as the narrator and key character of this novel. I chose this book because I was looking for some light summer reading and in that, the story does not disappoint.

However, the narration did disappoint. While West's reading as the narrator and the dialogue of the male characters was fine, he made every female character sound insipid or haughty. There was nothing in between. It distracted from my enjoyment of the book to a great degree. There are other men who have done fine work in performing women's dialogue; this artist is not one of them.

I may have rated the book more highly if I had read it instead of listened to it.

Predictable

It should have been more interesting than it actually was. In the end I was disappointed, though I plowed through to the end. The narrator was good with male voices, but female characters not so much. I wasn't surprised by much in the plot. #Audible1