Search Results for: jhumpa lahiri

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

September 23, 2013 by Jennifer

Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake is probably one of my favorite books (and surprisingly, I even love the movie), and she won a Pulitzer Prize for debut short story collection, so any new novel comes with high expectations.

The story begins in India, in the home of brothers Subhash and Udayan. We follow them and others in their lives over a period of about 50 years, both in India and in America.

The writing in The Lowland is evocative, but she holds the characters at a distance. Characters such as Subhash, who travels to America from Calcutta to continue his education and falls in love with Rhode Island, are honorable, yet I didn’t feel I was able to know and love him as much as I could have if I had been made privy to more intimate descriptions or internal dialogue from him.

The same could be said for Bela, the young girl who grows up as a first generation American, and is pained by the emotional distance from her mother. We know this, it’s obvious, but again, there is some distance in the storytelling that prevented from fully connecting or identifying or even sympathizing with her at times.

Udayan, Subhash’s brother, stays in Calcutta, involved in a revolutionary movement. Perhaps it is meant to be his story, even though he’s absent from much of it, but since I identified with him least of all, maybe that’s why the story fell flat to an extent.

There is a complete story arc, which I definitely appreciated. The point of view, place, and time shifts narratives throughout the story, and it’s a testament to Lahiri as a writer that this is easy to follow.

This novel had it’s strengths and weaknesses. I wasn’t sorry that I read it, and I know I’ll think of these characters, but honestly, I wish that I could have known them better.

My (Underground) American Dream: My True Story as an Undocumented Immigrant Who Became a Wall Street Executive

September 13, 2016 by Jennifer

Immigration is a hot topic right now, specifically Mexican immigration. I live in Texas, so it should be a topic in which I’ve taken an interest or about which I have a strong opinion, but I really don’t.

I know Mexican Americans. Some work for me, some are my friends, some are neighbors, and some are my children’s classmates. Are they documented? “Legal”? I assume so, but I don’t really know or care.

I’ve always enjoyed a good immigrant story — the idea of pursuing a dream or bravely escaping tyranny or starting over — like those told in novel from by Nadia Hashimi or Khaled Hosseini or Jhumpa Lahiri. These are about families or adults who begin again in a new country. I haven’t really given the children much thought, as far as it possibility being a hardship for them.

But Julissa Arce shared her perspective, and it made me think. She was brought to live with her parents who had been working in the U.S. (legally), and stayed. Her Visa expired, and all of sudden she was illegal. In reading her story, I began to understand and think differently about the situation.

Julissa was a good student. She helped her family in their sales business on weekends, and juggled school work, and friends and stayed on top. When the opportunity came for her to attend college, she could not make it happen. She couldn’t afford to pay the tuition, and without a social security number, she couldn’t apply for aid, and many of the colleges did not even consider her application.

I’ve heard of the DREAM act, which offers the opportunity of college to children who have been attending school here in the U.S., regardless of legal status. I’ve also heard the debate or criticism of the policy of allowing “illegals” to enroll in our public schools.

This was a highly readable memoir, covering much more than her struggles with her legal status. She shares about many interesting facets of her life including the ups and downs of dating in one’s 20s, the high pressure environment of Wall Street brokerage firms, succeeding as a woman and a minority, dealing with unexplained health programs, alcohol abuse and exploring the role of faith in all of it.

Most importantly, I learned how difficult it was for her to the things we all take for granted — live, work, attend college, have authentic relationships. I enjoyed this book a lot and am so glad I read it.

The Color of Our Sky

September 5, 2015 by Jennifer

If you’re a fan of Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner) or Jhumpa Lahiri (The Namesake), you will enjoy The Color of Our Sky as well. The story of the hardships and differences in culture in a country such as India, blended with the immigrant experience in America is a favorite fictional theme for me.

Tara’s father is always trying to help those who are less fortunate than he. One day in 1986, he brings home a girl, Mukta, about the same age as Tara. She lives with the family for seven years until she is kidnapped one night. She was born into a family of temple prostitutes, and it was from that fate that Tara’s father was saving her. After the violent death of Tara’s mother and Mukta’s disappearance, he decides they need a change and moves to America.

Eleven years later, he hangs himself. When Tara is going through his files, she finds evidence that he’s been using a private investigator to search for her for all these years, even though he had told Tara she was dead. Tara has not found professional or personal success or fulfillment, and decides to return to India to try to answer some of the questions.

The story is told through flashbacks to India and the early years in America, Tara’s current experience in India, as well as Mukta’s past and present. It is well written and the pacing is wonderful, so it is not at all confusing.

I enjoy novels with a rich setting. Amita Trasi’s novel has this and interesting well-developed characters on top of it. There’s even some mystery with the search for Mukta, which tied the whole story together. It was readable and enjoyable. If you judge a book by its cover, this beautiful cover will draw you in, and the words within the covers will not disappoint.

There is a reading guide on the author’s website to enhance your enjoyment or as an accompaniment to a book club discussion.

At the time of this writing the kindle version is only $2.99.

Q & A with Emily Giffin {with Giveaway link}

July 23, 2012 by Elizabeth

I get pitched a lot of books. Earlier this summer, I decided my stack was getting too big, and I determined to not accept any more. But the pitch for Emily Giffin’s latest novel Where We Belong (linked to my review with giveaway) included the first chapter, which ends with 36-year-old Marian confronting on her doorstep the daughter she gave up for adoption 18 years earlier, and told no one about. I was hooked, and requested the book. Although Emily Giffin is the best-selling author of novels such as Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Love the One You’re With, this was my first time reading one of her books. It won’t be the last!

I recently had the chance to interview Emily on writing, balancing aspects of life, and, most importantly to me, a small detail in the story that had a character turning out the wrong age. I loved her answer! (See question 2 to know what I’m talking about)

1. I really enjoyed “Where We Belong” and I found the premise intriguing–that of a life built on secrets and an exposure which begins when a baby Marian gave away and told no one about shows up on her doorstep 18 years later. Did a certain event, maybe someone you know or something you read, spark the idea? What was your inspiration?

At its heart, the book is about secrets and what happens to us and to those closest to us when we keep them. I’ve always been intrigued by the power of secrets. When is it justifiable to keep them from the ones we love? And does keeping them irrevocably change who we are? Adoption (under the secretive circumstances in Where We Belong) seemed to be a great way to explore some of the broader themes. In addition, I have always been interested in adoption. There are so many perspectives to explore—so much rich, emotional terrain.

2. My oldest son was born in 1995, the year of the Chicago heat wave when Kirby was conceived, so I knew right away that Kirby couldn’t be 18 yet, in 2012, since Elliot just turned 17. 😉 I read your comments on this in the prologue. Why was that specific heat wave important for you?

In part because I remember it so well. But more because I built the whole book, chronology, Marian’s pregnancy, and even pop culture references around it—and did not discover until the very end that I had done my basic math incorrectly. (My husband actually read the draft and pointed out my error; he is great at catching such details!). At that point, I had two choices-make it a random heat wave and tinker with some of the references or make Kirby sixteen. Neither was acceptable to me—so instead I simply pointed out my mistake in the acknowledgements to prevent a barrage of emails from readers!

3. When you write a novel, do you know exactly where you’re going with things? Do your characters sometimes surprise you?

I never outline my novels before I write. I have a vague sense of beginning, middle and end, but for me, it is a very character-driven process. As I get to know my characters, and the relationships between them form, the plot evolves accordingly. Although this method of writing can be inefficient, and I sometimes have to scrap whole chapters if I don’t like the direction the story is unfolding, I love being surprised in the writing process.

4. In “Where We Belong,” the voice goes back and forth between Marian and Kirby, as well as between 2012 and 1995. Was it difficult writing in a teenager’s voice? Did you write all of one person’s story and then the other story and splice them together, or did you write them in the order they appear in the book?

I have always been drawn to coming-of-age stories and books and movies featuring compelling young characters. My favorite movie of all-time is Stand By Me, and I still reread my favorite young adult books often. In fact, the first novel I ever wrote (before Something Borrowed) was a young adult book—but I was never able to get it published. As for difficulty with capturing Kirby’s voice, I was nervous in the beginning because I am forty and high school is becoming a distant memory. But I read old journals as well as some current teen blogs to get started, and once I began, her voice felt very natural to me. In some ways, I think she is wiser than the adults in the book. And yes, I always write the chapters in order!

5. I know you practiced law for a time before becoming a full-time writer. How does that aspect of your education and past life contribute to your writing, or does it?

Although I enjoyed law school, I loathed the actual practice of law—at least the big firm culture. But I discovered that misery can be quite motivating. So very early on, I devised a plan to pay off my law school loans and then write full-time. I often wonder if I would have chased my dream had I been more content with my career. In other words, sometimes a lukewarm existence is the most dangerous one. Beyond that, I don’t think being a lawyer helps with my writing, but I think any life experience—both good and bad—is helpful in a writer’s life.

6. Do you ever get writer’s block? How do you deal with it? What is the hardest part of being a writer?

Yes—pretty much every day is filled with at least a few moments of frustration in which I’m staring at a blank screen (or a screen filled with sentences I loathe). To me, writing is about overcoming those moments, fighting through them, getting to the other side. More than anything, I write for that feeling of accomplishment and relief. I remember my publicist once saying to me, about another writer, “She only had one book in her.” That is always my fear—that I’ve reached my limit. But I’ve discovered that nearly every author—no matter how accomplished—has this feeling on occasion. And ultimately, I believe that writing is mostly about hard work, perseverance, keeping faith in yourself—which, I believe, is true of most things in life worth pursuing.

7. Like any other working mother, how do you integrate family life and work?

It is really difficult, especially during a book tour or when I’m nearing a deadline. I think it’s all about finding that balance and acknowledging that there is no such thing as “having it all.” You always have to make sacrifices and compromises in life and accept the fact that perfection isn’t achievable—as a mother or writer.

8. When you’re in the middle of writing a novel, do you make time to read? Do you find other books a distraction or an inspiration at that point? Also, who are some of your favorite authors?

I love books from all genres, except science fiction and horror. Some of my favorite authors include Ann Patchett, Alice Munro, Elinor Lipman, Sue Miller, Jane Smiley, Jhumpa Lahiri, Jane Hamilton, Elizabeth Strout, and Anne Lamott. I generally like female authors who write about relationships (go figure!).

9. What’s next?

Another book! I already have an idea but haven’t begun writing it yet. That will come after my book tour. The first page is always terrifying, but I look forward to getting to know my characters. It really is like making new friends—although sometimes we spend way too much time together!

Thanks so much, Emily!

Read my review of Where We Belong at 5 Minutes for Mom and enter to win a copy for yourself.

The Namesake: Books on Screen

April 28, 2011 by Jennifer

I saw The Namesake back in 2007 when it first came out. A local indie movie theater had a mid-morning showing meant for moms to take advantage of their children’s day at school, so some friends and I chose to experience some culture.

I like movies, but not necessarily artsy or foreign films. My movie choices are probably a lot more low-brow than my reading (which isn’t so high-brow in itself), but I had heard some buzz about this, and since I’ve always appreciated literature written by and about immigrants, I thought I’d try it.

The movie reached me. I liked it a lot. Kal Penn captured my heart as the first-generation American-born Gogol Ganguli.

I don’t think I knew that it was a book at the time, but it’s been on my “to read” list for a while. I finally read The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri this month, and then I watched the movie again.

As I was reading the book, with the movie viewing from almost 4 years ago in my mind, I thought that the movie was a pretty good assimilation of the novel. I left feeling like the movie was a complete picture of a family, and in my mind related it to the character-driven novels I like so much — that bore others because “nothing happens.”

I watched the movie again recently, just days after finishing the novel, and it still held up. Of course I made comparisons (why the change in setting from Cambridge to New York??), but I think that the movie did a great job of telling the exact same story with exactly the same feel of the book. There are also many times in which dialogue and nuance are taken directly from the book. One of the things that amazed me in the book was the way that Lahiri writes a scene, and somehow this came across on screen too (although the book is truly fantastic).

I was surprised how quickly the movie moved, covering 6 or 8 years within the first 20 or 30 minutes. It seems a bit jumpy after having read the book (which also moves forward through the years fairly quickly), but I don’t remember feeling confused by it the first time I saw it. The director, Mira Nair, actually adds in some wonderful scenes that I thought enhanced the story.

Both the book and the movie are a wonderful story of immigration — those who choose to come to America, and those like Gogol and his sister who are born there and straddle the line between their parents’ past and their own future, which gives it the feel of a coming of age story. They each have strengths — I especially adored the portrayal of Gogol’s mother Ashima in the movie — and they are both worth experiencing.

You can read my review of the book the Namesake at my blog. I highly encourage you to experience this story through either the book or the movie.

Jennifer Donovan loves the written word and loves seeing stories played out on film as well. She blogs about other things she loves at Snapshot.

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Unaccustomed Earth

February 13, 2009 by Melissa

Several months ago, a friend suggested that I read a book by Jhumpa Lahiri. In searching the reviews of that particular book, I discovered that her latest work, Unaccustomed Earth: Stories, is a compilation of short stories that’s also receiving rave reviews. I don’t believe I’ve ever read a book of short stories before, so I thought I’d expand my horizons.

Each of the stories center upon the complicated relationships in our lives. The bonds between siblings, spouses, parents and children are a common thread the Lahiri eloquently weaves throughout the book.

In the title story, young mother Ruma is expecting her second child. Her father, recently widowed, comes to visit Ruma while her husband is away on business. Both are burdened by the sense of duty the visit brings, and both sorely miss the bridge Ruma’s mother provided for their relationship. The tension between Ruma’s decidedly American life and her father’s adherence to his Bengali roots bubbles just under the surface…obvious but unspoken.

Hell-Heaven is a grown woman’s recollection of the relationship her family develops with a Bengali student who becomes part of their family. She watches as her mother, stuck in a loveless arranged marriage, develops feelings for the young man. Still, she doesn’t realize how intense her mother’s feelings are until she herself is grown.

Lahiri’s writing is intensely beautiful and emotionally gripping. As written on the inside cover:

Unaccustomed Earth is rich with Jhumpa Lahiri’s signature gifts: exquisite prose, emotional wisdom, and the subtle renderings of the most intricate workings of the heart and mind.

I must say that I agree wholeheartedly. I will definitely be adding her other works to my “to be read” pile.

Melissa has been captivated by books for as long as she can remember. She resides in Virginia at at Breath of Life.