WHEREABOUTS
This week I found myself returning to Jhumpa Lahiri’s WHEREABOUTS—which she wrote and published in Italian before translating it to English. The writing itself is just the sort of gorgeous prose you’d expect from Lahiri—applied to an observational, internal story filled with watching and longing and dreaming, but very little action. The novel details the life of a middle-aged woman in a small town in Italy living out her life as a professor and taking in the lives of those around her. She imagines what it would be like to carry out an affair with a married man but never acts on it. She mentors a young woman and finds herself inspired and simultaneously ashamed of her own life instead. She meets with an old friend and her husband and finds that she doesn’t like the husband. The almost vignette style of the novel makes for a refreshing summer read. I strongly recommend it if you’re already a Lahiri fan, because it’s quite a departure from her usual style of writing—and what a joy it is to see a writer you love experiment a little bit! And even if you aren’t already a fan of her work, give this one a read. It stands on its own merit and is just a beautiful, lingering read.
—Nimrata Narang, Digital Fellow
[Editor’s note: Happy last day of your fellowship, Nim! We’ll miss you!]
