3.5
In Other Words
ByPublisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Namesake delivers a powerful meditation on the process of learning to express herself in Italian—and the stunning journey of a writer seeking a new voice. • "The most evocative, unpretentious, astute account of a writing life I have read.” —The Washington Post
On a post-college visit to Florence, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri fell in love with the Italian language. Twenty years later, seeking total immersion, she and her family relocated to Rome, where she began to read and write solely in her adopted tongue. In Other Words is a startling act of self-reflection.
On a post-college visit to Florence, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri fell in love with the Italian language. Twenty years later, seeking total immersion, she and her family relocated to Rome, where she began to read and write solely in her adopted tongue. In Other Words is a startling act of self-reflection.
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3.5
Upasana Ratri
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“Lahiri's work has captivated me since I devoured "The Namesake," followed by the mesmerizing "Lowland." With each turn of the page, I feel a connection with her, a sense of getting to know her better. Her book, "In Other Words," delves into a different kind of love story - her passionate affair with the Italian language. Throughout the book, she talks about her struggles with learning Italian and how it changed her perspective on language and identity. She also includes stories from other writers and artists, which adds more depth to her own story.
Her mastery goes beyond mere fluency. It's about nurturing ideas, stories, and emotions in a new linguistic garden, allowing them to bloom in the rich soil of a different tongue. That she ultimately immersed herself in Italy to truly capture the essence of the language.
What's particularly fascinating about this book is that she herself didn't undertake the task of translating it into English. Instead, she made a deliberate choice to maintain its original Italian form, ensuring its authenticity and genuine essence remained intact for readers to savor.
In this book, metaphors blossom like flowers in a lush garden, illuminating her profound journey with language. Through elegant metaphorical garments, Lahiri portrays English as a "worn-out" outfit and Italian as a vibrant "new dress," each representing comfort and renewal, respectively. She delicately contrasts English as a "hairy adolescent" with Italian as a tender "baby," portraying the initial awkwardness of learning a new language against the backdrop of familiarity. Nature serves as a backdrop, with Italian depicted as a serene "lake" mirroring tranquility, while English stands as a vast and unpredictable "ocean," teeming with familiarity and uncertainty. Italian emerges as a passionate "lover," igniting flames of excitement and inspiration within Lahiri's soul, while English assumes the role of a pragmatic "stepmother," tethered to duty but devoid of passion.
I highly recommend this book to anyone curious about the power of language to shape identity and open doors to new worlds.”
Yulia | Cultural Flâneuse
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navina
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About Jhumpa Lahiri
JHUMPA LAHIRI is the author of four works of fiction: Interpreter of Maladies, The Namesake, Unaccustomed Earth, and The Lowland; and a work of nonfiction, In Other Words. She has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize; the PEN/Hemingway Award; the PEN/Malamud Award; the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award; the Premio Gregor von Rezzori; the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature; a 2014 National Humanities Medal, awarded by President Barack Obama; and the Premio Internazionale Viareggio-Versilia, for In altre parole.
ANN GOLDSTEIN is an editor at The New Yorker. She has translated works by, among others, Elena Ferrante, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Primo Levi, Giacomo Leopardi, and Alessandro Baricco, and is the editor of The Complete Works of Primo Levi in English. She has been the recipient of the PEN Renato Poggioli Translation Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and awards from the Italian Foreign Ministry and from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
ANN GOLDSTEIN is an editor at The New Yorker. She has translated works by, among others, Elena Ferrante, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Primo Levi, Giacomo Leopardi, and Alessandro Baricco, and is the editor of The Complete Works of Primo Levi in English. She has been the recipient of the PEN Renato Poggioli Translation Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and awards from the Italian Foreign Ministry and from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Other books by Jhumpa Lahiri
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