Why read on Fable?
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A marvelous new novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Lowland and Interpreter of Maladies about a woman questioning her place in the world, wavering between stasis and movement, between the need to belong and the refusal to form lasting ties.
“Another masterstroke in a career already filled with them.” —O, the Oprah Magazine
Exuberance and dread, attachment and estrangement: in this novel, Jhumpa Lahiri stretches her themes to the limit. In the arc of one year, an unnamed narrator in an unnamed city, in the middle of her life’s journey, realizes that she’s lost her way. The city she calls home acts as a companion and interlocutor: traversing the streets around her house, and in parks, piazzas, museums, stores, and coffee bars, she feels less alone.
We follow her to the pool she frequents, and to the train station that leads to her mother, who is mired in her own solitude after her husband’s untimely death. Among those who appear on this woman’s path are colleagues with whom she feels ill at ease, casual acquaintances, and “him,” a shadow who both consoles and unsettles her. Until one day at the sea, both overwhelmed and replenished by the sun’s vital heat, her perspective will abruptly change.
This is the first novel Lahiri has written in Italian and translated into English. The reader will find the qualities that make Lahiri’s work so beloved: deep intelligence and feeling, richly textured physical and emotional landscapes, and a poetics of dislocation. But Whereabouts, brimming with the impulse to cross barriers, also signals a bold shift of style and sensibility. By grafting herself onto a new literary language, Lahiri has pushed herself to a new level of artistic achievement.
“Another masterstroke in a career already filled with them.” —O, the Oprah Magazine
Exuberance and dread, attachment and estrangement: in this novel, Jhumpa Lahiri stretches her themes to the limit. In the arc of one year, an unnamed narrator in an unnamed city, in the middle of her life’s journey, realizes that she’s lost her way. The city she calls home acts as a companion and interlocutor: traversing the streets around her house, and in parks, piazzas, museums, stores, and coffee bars, she feels less alone.
We follow her to the pool she frequents, and to the train station that leads to her mother, who is mired in her own solitude after her husband’s untimely death. Among those who appear on this woman’s path are colleagues with whom she feels ill at ease, casual acquaintances, and “him,” a shadow who both consoles and unsettles her. Until one day at the sea, both overwhelmed and replenished by the sun’s vital heat, her perspective will abruptly change.
This is the first novel Lahiri has written in Italian and translated into English. The reader will find the qualities that make Lahiri’s work so beloved: deep intelligence and feeling, richly textured physical and emotional landscapes, and a poetics of dislocation. But Whereabouts, brimming with the impulse to cross barriers, also signals a bold shift of style and sensibility. By grafting herself onto a new literary language, Lahiri has pushed herself to a new level of artistic achievement.
1546 Reviews
3.5
Riya Mishra
Created 1 day agoShare
Report
“Whereabouts is a quiet, introspective novel that explores themes of solitude, identity, and emotional distance. The story follows an unnamed woman in an unnamed Italian city, reflecting on her life through fragmented diary-like entries. The novel is emotionally rich and thought-provoking.”
Alice
Created 5 days agoShare
Report
Jessica
Created 6 days agoShare
Report
“Probably my favorite book I’ve read this year so far. My heart felt heavy (in a good way) reading some parts in this book, perhaps because in many ways I related to the narrator. I love, love, love this book. So beautifully written and one I can see myself coming back to. I highly recommend this book to single women 30+ I think we can all find something of ourselves in this story.
This book was my introduction to Jhumpa Lahiri and I look forward to reading more of her work.”BelievableRelatableSatisfying conclusionSteady pacingWell-structuredHistoricalNostalgicPicturesqueRealisticSetting fits the storyVivid descriptionsBeautifully-writtenDescriptiveEasy to readFlowery/lushCaptivatingEasy to followFlows wellWell-organizedWell-pacedEasy to readEffective visualsEloquentLyricalRelatable
Heba Ahmed
Created 17 days agoShare
Report
Sarah
Created 20 days agoShare
Report
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.
Other books by Jhumpa Lahiri
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Similar Books
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List