Monday Moment Book Review - Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri

 I LOVE Jhumpa Lahiri's writing and her new novel, Whereabouts, does not disappoint. She originally wrote in her newest acquired language, Italian, and then translated her own work into this English version. Wow!

The book is less than 155 pages with 46 chapters - small glimpses into the narrators life. Cover blurb:  A woman questioning her place in the world, wavers between stasis and movement, between the need to belong and a refusal to form lasting ties. The city is her companion and we follow her from work to the train station, to the pool, the shops, the beach. 

cover: Whereabouts is an exquisitely nuanced portrait of urban solitude, one that shimmers with beauty and possibility. 

I loved this book and the feelings it evoked - wistfulness, sadness, hope, yearning, contentment, restlessness. I wanted to walk in the piazzas, visit a friend's country home, or have a day at the beach. Each chapter had many sentences that were just wonderful. 

Here's an example: The city doesn't beckon or lend me a shoulder today. Maybe it knows I'm about to leave. The sun's dull disk defeats me: the dense sky is the same one that will carry me away. That vast and vaporous territory, lacking precise pathways, is all that binds us together now. 

Lahiri's writing is a treat. 

Book Review - In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri

Cover blurb:  In Other Words is a revelation. It is at heart a love story – of a long and difficult courtship, and a passion that verges on obsession: that of a writer for another language.

Jhumpa Lahiri, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, chose to move to Italy with her family. She immersed herself in the country, in the language, and then chose to write this book about her journey. She wrote it in Italian, her third language. She grew up in India, her native tongue Bengali. Her parents brought her to America and she learned English, becoming a scholar and award winning writer. But she always loved Italian and wanted to immerse herself in the language. Do you comprehend how difficult that is to do as an adult? To dabble in a new language is one thing. To learn it well enough to write a book in it is another. In turn, her original Italian version of this book was translated back to English by Ann Goldstein, a respected translator. Wow.

If you love words, writing, language, linguistics, learning, scholarship, perseverance, and more – then In Other Words is for you. I’ve always loved Lahiri’s writing – it’s quite lyrical and smooth. Her characters are rich and well developed. In this case, working in non-fiction memoir, her character is flawed and frustrated. She writes of her doubts as she tackles this project. She recognizes the risk she takes to put these words to paper – questions the quality. But she climbs the mountain of words, and while still aware of her baby steps, is proud to share the struggle.

Any writer will appreciate In Other Words – the writing, the process, the constant need to check a dictionary, the constant pruning and cajoling needed to finish a thought.

And you’ll want to travel to Italy….. Pronto

Book Review: The Lowland

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri is another dazzling book by this Pulitzer Prize winning author. Her prose is musical, her characters are rich, and she puts the reader in the middle of place - whether it's Calcutta, India or a seaside town in Rhode Island. You can smell the air and feel the heat or cold.

cover blurb: "Two brothers bound by tragedy. A fiercely brilliant woman haunted by her past. A country torn by revolution. A love that lasts long past death. The Lowland is a tale of great beauty and complex emotion; an engrossing family saga with a story steeped in history that spans generations and geography with seamless authenticity. "

Inseparable brothers, Subhash and Udayan, are opposites with different futures. Subhash is quiet and scholarly, ultimately making his way to a new life in America. Udayan is brash and impulsive and participates in a rebellion to erradicate poverty in India. Unfortunately the family is shattered by Udayan's choices. Subhash must pick up the pieces, make choices, and try to raise a daughter.

Lahiri weaves Indian customs within new world expectations. She's excellent at depicting internal conflict, and outward strife. Her characters are intelligent and display heartfelt emotion. Her writing is sublime, and when you finish The Lowland it is with a sigh of regret at leaving these peoples' lives, and yet knowing they are going to survive and succeed.