{"id":8383,"date":"2023-03-29T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2023-03-29T08:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/?p=8383"},"modified":"2023-02-25T22:37:46","modified_gmt":"2023-02-25T22:37:46","slug":"staff-picks-jhumpa-lahiri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/staff-picks-jhumpa-lahiri\/","title":{"rendered":"Staff Picks: Jhumpa Lahiri"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whenever someone asks about my favorite writer, I always talk about Jhumpa Lahiri<\/a>.<\/span> She has been my “favorite” since I read her during my time as an undergrad student. Yet there\u2019s something that feels almost childlike in speaking about my “favorite” author. Maybe because a lot of time must pass in order to establish this label. And perhaps it feels childish to have favorites at all. For example, the idea that having preferences is immature, and being amenable to many things in the harsh re<\/span>ality of day to day life is the norm. To mature is to experience and enhance one’s appreciation as we encounter more things. And to mature is to be discerning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I first read Lahiri\u2019s debut novel, <\/span>The Namesake. <\/span><\/i><\/a>The book was part of Danbury, Connecticut\u2019s One Book One Community project in 2008. The author came to our campus to give a talk about this book at the conclusion of the community project. I have written about book talks<\/a> before,<\/span>\u00a0and this one was pretty similar. I cannot remember any of the specifics discussed but I still have my signed copy of the book. The novel focuses on the experience of immigration and existing between two cultures. I loved her storytelling and writing style, so I quickly sought out her short stories, <\/span>Interpreter of Maladies<\/span><\/i><\/a>. This collection won her the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2000. Her short stories still resonate with me as her strongest genre. (I tend to be a big fan of short stories- I love J.D. Salinger\u2019s<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I see a thread between her beautiful short stories and her current works. She is described as a minimalist writer. Her prose is concise and she often writes in present tense and first person. She is a true writer\u2019s writer \u2013 integrating style and the use of words themselves. A major part of this lies in the fact that she now exclusively writes in Italian and her works\u00a0<\/span>are then translated into English. Check out this New Yorker article<\/a> as a primer to her writing style and intro to her journey of language mastery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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When I found out that my “favorite” writer is equally entranced by Italian language and cultur<\/span>e as I am, the deal was sealed. I have studied Italian since the final semester of my undergraduate studies. My background in music and love of opera started the obsession, but the coffee and movies really got things rolling. I have traveled to Italy to visit and study seven times. I happened upon a signed copy of Lahiri\u2019s <\/span>In Other Words<\/a>\/In altre parole<\/i> in a bookstore not long after it was published in 2016. Even though I manage social media, I\u2019m not too present as a fan. This was the best way I could imagine learning about this side of my favorite author, through her work itself. I picked up the book and then realized that it was written half in Italian and half in English. She wrote the book in Italian and Ann Goldstein translated it into English. Lahiri challenged herself to write only in Italian in order to expedite the process of expressing herself more fluently in a foreign tongue (pen?). For anyone interested in Italian, I highly recommend picking up this memoir detailing her experience navigating this self-imposed obstacle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I just finished reading <\/span>Whereabouts<\/span><\/i><\/a>, Lahiri\u2019s most recent novel. I mistakenly thought that it would be presented in Italian\/English and was disappointed to receive only the English translation (all the more reason to go to an actual book store!). I will read the original Italian next (<\/span>Dove mi trovo<\/a>)<\/span><\/i>, but must say that I really enjoyed the translation. The translation retains the strained feeling of searching for words, while the writing effortlessly conveys the complexity of character of the unnamed narrator.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s a taste: \u201cI watch her as she cycles through the piazza. She could be my daughter given that I\u2019m thirty years older. But she\u2019s already a woman, with a beauty that\u2019s disarming. A girl who smiles as she speaks, as if to declare to the world, See how happy I am. Nothing like I was at that age: still a child, no boyfriends, ill at ease. I\u2019m envious. I still regret my squandered youth, the absence of rebellion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The story traces the solitary life of this mystery woman living in an undefined city<\/a> in Italy.<\/span> As we read the narrator\u2019s musings on her solitude, larger questions about life and its absurdities surface \u2013 an\u00a0<\/span>amazing feat based on the limited character material Lahiri provides from the outset.\u00a0 The book is short and a perfect selection for a relaxing read, soothing the eyes and mind after much too much screen time (speaking for myself). If you don\u2019t already know Jhumpa Lahiri\u2019s work, check it out. The “favorite” designation is highly personal, but yours may have some competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lahiri\u2019s books available at Rutgers University Libraries:<\/span><\/h3>\n