Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, May 3rd, 2022

Format: Paperback 

Pages: 288

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

In this decadent, deeply evocative novel, a young artist travels to Rome to heal a broken heart, where she ​confronts loneliness and intimacy, rage and desire: “Sensorial as hell . . . A stunningly cool and stylish debut” (Paul Beatty, Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Sellout).
 
Emilia arrives in Rome reeling from heartbreak and reckoning with her past. What was supposed to be a romantic trip has, with the sudden end of a relationship, become a solitary one instead. As she wanders, music, art, food, and the beauty of Rome’s wide piazzas and narrow streets color Emilia’s dreamy, but weighty experience of the city. She considers the many facets of her life, drifting in and out of memory, following her train of thought wherever it leads.

While climbing a hill near Trastevere, she meets John, an American expat living a seemingly idyllic life. They are soon navigating an intriguing connection, one that brings pain they both hold into the light.
 
As their intimacy deepens, Emilia starts to see herself anew, both as a woman and as an artist. For the first time in her life, she confronts the ways in which she’s been letting her father’s success as a musician overshadow her own. Forced to reckon with both her origins and the choices she’s made, Emilia finds herself on a singular journey—and transformed in ways she never expected.
 
Equal parts visceral and cerebral, Six Days in Rome is an ode to the Eternal City, a celebration of art and creativity, and a meditation on self-discovery. 

My Review:

Thank you Grand Central Publishing for the copy of this book.
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Read if you like: books set in Italy, self-exploration stories.
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Emilia was supposed to go to Rome with her boyfriend, but when he dumps her, she decides to take the trip herself. There she meets John, who helps her explore a bit more on the trip than just sightseeing.
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I loved the descriptions of Rome and they made me want to travel back. I also loved Emilia’s reflection on life, her past romantic relationships, as well as her relationship with her parents.
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CW: adultery, sexual content, sexism, and misogyny.