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roseleaf24's review against another edition
4.0
This is not exactly memoir, more like a collection of essays about Lahiri's journey with the Italian language. I listened to the audio version, read by Lahiri, though she was reading a translator's version of her words, which was fascinating to me. She wrote it in Italian, but a translator did the English translation, so that Lahiri would not be tempted to fix or change what she had said in Italian when writing in her dominant language. This is not a linear collection of essays, but a series of thoughts about language and writing. I really enjoyed it and found the layers of thought that she shares here easy to relate to, even though I have always written and spoken in my native language.
mollywetta's review
3.0
Foreign languages elude me, despite an earnest desire to learn them. It was comforting to find that Lahiri, a writer I admire as much as Mindy Kaling does, also struggled with learning a new language. This short read is a love letter to words, perfect for anyone who often ponders language and expression. Highly recommended.
ivi_reads_books's review
3.5
I liked her thoughts about learning and expressing oneself in another language. At the same time I could tell she wrote it in a language that wasn't hers because it lacked some of the style I enjoy about the author's previous writing
anvh_01's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.5
I'm someone who loves learning languages and this is the first book I read in Italian. I love the way she narrates her journey, I think that, for every language love out there, it's going to be very relatable, especially if you have that one language you fell in love with completely. I'm definitely going to check more of her works! ❤️
lsparrow's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! the discussion about language and home/roots. The connections that we have to language and the ways that it moves and shapes us.
durva_1401's review against another edition
4.0
“But you can't float without the possibility of drowning, of sinking. To know a new language, to immerse yourself, you have to leave the shore. Without a life vest. Without depending on solid ground.”-Jhumpa Lahiri, In Other Words.
This is the 3rd Jhumpa Lahiri book that I have read. I would rank ‘In Other Words’ as the best of 3 novels I have read by this author. ‘In Other Words’ is an autobiographic record of the author’s linguistic journey. The author has originally written and published this book in Italian which was later translated by another author and published in English.
She extensively talks about her journey of learning a completely new language from scratch; of being obsessed with the Italian language to the point of moving to Italy along with her family for the sake of getting well-versed in the Italian language. She talks about her quest of learning Italian with the help of metaphors.
She gives a detailed account of her learning process, like carrying a dictionary everywhere and maintaining a diary to note down all the new words and their meanings; reading only Italian newspapers and novels, thinking in Italian and noting down her thoughts in Italian only; taking classes from various teachers to understand the grammar and pronunciation of the language; failing a lot of times, but being open to mistakes and learning from them.
After having successfully published 4 novels in English and winning a Pulitzer Prize; it takes guts and determination to publish a novel in a language learned from scratch.
You will relate to this novel if you are in the process of learning a new language too or if you are obsessed with something that the world fails to understand or if you want to find the right amount of motivation to accomplish your goals and overcome your fears.
Ann Goldstein has beautifully translated the book from Italian language. The simple writing style keeps you hooked. Reading this book has inspired me to learn a new language.
#jhumpalahiri #inotherwords #dndiareading #translatedworks #autobiography #memoir #language #namesake #lowland #italy #italian #rome #readersofinstagram #bookstagramindia #booktok #explorepage #explore
This is the 3rd Jhumpa Lahiri book that I have read. I would rank ‘In Other Words’ as the best of 3 novels I have read by this author. ‘In Other Words’ is an autobiographic record of the author’s linguistic journey. The author has originally written and published this book in Italian which was later translated by another author and published in English.
She extensively talks about her journey of learning a completely new language from scratch; of being obsessed with the Italian language to the point of moving to Italy along with her family for the sake of getting well-versed in the Italian language. She talks about her quest of learning Italian with the help of metaphors.
She gives a detailed account of her learning process, like carrying a dictionary everywhere and maintaining a diary to note down all the new words and their meanings; reading only Italian newspapers and novels, thinking in Italian and noting down her thoughts in Italian only; taking classes from various teachers to understand the grammar and pronunciation of the language; failing a lot of times, but being open to mistakes and learning from them.
After having successfully published 4 novels in English and winning a Pulitzer Prize; it takes guts and determination to publish a novel in a language learned from scratch.
You will relate to this novel if you are in the process of learning a new language too or if you are obsessed with something that the world fails to understand or if you want to find the right amount of motivation to accomplish your goals and overcome your fears.
Ann Goldstein has beautifully translated the book from Italian language. The simple writing style keeps you hooked. Reading this book has inspired me to learn a new language.
#jhumpalahiri #inotherwords #dndiareading #translatedworks #autobiography #memoir #language #namesake #lowland #italy #italian #rome #readersofinstagram #bookstagramindia #booktok #explorepage #explore
bmziggy's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
A great book for those who understand what it is to question your identity in different languages and/or learning to embrace a second language as an adult