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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Incredible collection of short stories
•”Later, those few times they talked about what had happened, she said at least they'd been spared that knowledge. In a way she almost took pride in her decision, for it enabled her to seek refuge in a mystery.”
•"’I only spoil children who are incapable of spoiling.’
It was an awkward moment for me, one which I awaited in part with dread, in part with delight. I was charmed by the presence of Mr. Pirzada's rotund elegance, and flattered by the faint theatricality of his attentions, yet unsettled by the superb ease of his gestures, which made me feel, for an instant, like a stranger in my own home. It had become our ritual, and for several weeks, before we grew more comfortable with one another, it was the only time he spoke to me directly. I had no response, offered no comment, betrayed no visible reaction to the steady stream of honey-filled lozenges, the raspberry truffles, the slender rolls of sour pastilles. I could not even thank him, for once, when I did, for an especially spectacular peppermint lollipop wrapped in a spray of purple cellophane, he had demanded, ‘What is this thank-you? The lady at the bank thanks me, the cashier at the shop thanks me, the librarian thanks me when I return an overdue book, the overseas operator thanks me as she tries to connect me to Dacca and fails. If I am buried in this country I will be thanked, no doubt, at my funeral.’”
•”He was not my notion of a man burdened by such grave concerns. I wondered if the reason he was always so smartly dressed was in preparation to endure with dignity whatever news assailed him, perhaps even to attend a funeral at a moment’s notice.”
•”And ‘Boori Ma's mouth is full of ashes, but she is the victim of changing times’ was the refrain of old Mr. Chatterjee. He had neither strayed from his balcony nor opened a newspaper since Independence, but in spite of this fact, or maybe because of it, his opinions were always highly esteemed.”
•”The tender fourth movement, the adagietto, began. During breakfast, Sanjeev had read in the liner notes that Mahler had proposed to his wife by sending her the manuscript of this portion of the score. Although there were elements of tragedy and struggle in the Fifth Symphony, he had read, it was principally music of love and happiness.
He heard the toilet flush. ‘By the way,’ Twinkle hollered, ‘if you want to impress people, I wouldn't play this music. It's putting me to sleep.’”
•”In those six weeks I regarded her arrival as I would the arrival of a coming month, or season - something inevitable, but meaningless at the time. So little did I know her that, while details of her face sometimes rose to my memory, I could not conjure up the whole of it.”
•”While the astronauts, heroes forever, spent mere hours on the moon, I have remained in this new world for nearly thirty years. I know that my achievement is quite ordinary. I am not the only man to seek his fortune far from home, and certainly I am not the first. Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.”
•"’I only spoil children who are incapable of spoiling.’
It was an awkward moment for me, one which I awaited in part with dread, in part with delight. I was charmed by the presence of Mr. Pirzada's rotund elegance, and flattered by the faint theatricality of his attentions, yet unsettled by the superb ease of his gestures, which made me feel, for an instant, like a stranger in my own home. It had become our ritual, and for several weeks, before we grew more comfortable with one another, it was the only time he spoke to me directly. I had no response, offered no comment, betrayed no visible reaction to the steady stream of honey-filled lozenges, the raspberry truffles, the slender rolls of sour pastilles. I could not even thank him, for once, when I did, for an especially spectacular peppermint lollipop wrapped in a spray of purple cellophane, he had demanded, ‘What is this thank-you? The lady at the bank thanks me, the cashier at the shop thanks me, the librarian thanks me when I return an overdue book, the overseas operator thanks me as she tries to connect me to Dacca and fails. If I am buried in this country I will be thanked, no doubt, at my funeral.’”
•”He was not my notion of a man burdened by such grave concerns. I wondered if the reason he was always so smartly dressed was in preparation to endure with dignity whatever news assailed him, perhaps even to attend a funeral at a moment’s notice.”
•”And ‘Boori Ma's mouth is full of ashes, but she is the victim of changing times’ was the refrain of old Mr. Chatterjee. He had neither strayed from his balcony nor opened a newspaper since Independence, but in spite of this fact, or maybe because of it, his opinions were always highly esteemed.”
•”The tender fourth movement, the adagietto, began. During breakfast, Sanjeev had read in the liner notes that Mahler had proposed to his wife by sending her the manuscript of this portion of the score. Although there were elements of tragedy and struggle in the Fifth Symphony, he had read, it was principally music of love and happiness.
He heard the toilet flush. ‘By the way,’ Twinkle hollered, ‘if you want to impress people, I wouldn't play this music. It's putting me to sleep.’”
•”In those six weeks I regarded her arrival as I would the arrival of a coming month, or season - something inevitable, but meaningless at the time. So little did I know her that, while details of her face sometimes rose to my memory, I could not conjure up the whole of it.”
•”While the astronauts, heroes forever, spent mere hours on the moon, I have remained in this new world for nearly thirty years. I know that my achievement is quite ordinary. I am not the only man to seek his fortune far from home, and certainly I am not the first. Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.”
I can appreciate that this is a well written book that is just absolutely not for me. This style of writing that presents "everyday life" in this way is very unpleasant to me. And I describe it as a style despite having come across it only rarely before but in a formative period, as I remember being put off from short stories entirely for some time.
However, this is probably an issue of me not thinking critically enough about book choices when they come recommended, as some closer inspection should have made it clear that this was not a book for me. Moral is do a little bit of research and trust your gut on the books you choose to buy/read. Even things that made me think the book would appeal to me, such as superficial similarities in background, ended up being negatives in the book. In the sense that it highlighted some things I don't want to have to think about when I'm trying to take a break from real life! I don't know why I can enjoy reading about the end of the world but reading about everyday life and it's misery is frankly horrible.
Two stars because of a few highlights (Twinkle) and the fact that it was pretty reader-friendly in terms of not dragging and flowing well.
However, this is probably an issue of me not thinking critically enough about book choices when they come recommended, as some closer inspection should have made it clear that this was not a book for me. Moral is do a little bit of research and trust your gut on the books you choose to buy/read. Even things that made me think the book would appeal to me, such as superficial similarities in background, ended up being negatives in the book. In the sense that it highlighted some things I don't want to have to think about when I'm trying to take a break from real life! I don't know why I can enjoy reading about the end of the world but reading about everyday life and it's misery is frankly horrible.
Two stars because of a few highlights (Twinkle) and the fact that it was pretty reader-friendly in terms of not dragging and flowing well.
On my second reading, I realize the last short story of the novel (The Third and Final Continent) is the most heartbreaking of the collection.
A solid book. Even though it's entirely short stories, I found that the characters were very deep and multifaceted. Not a light read, it talks of many struggles in Indian culture but is definitely worth picking up.
Short Version: Book is great. Go read it. Can't wait to read more from her.
Reason for short version: I really just wrote out this review.... and then stepped away to have my computer shut down. Ugh.
Reason for short version: I really just wrote out this review.... and then stepped away to have my computer shut down. Ugh.
I ducked in to each of the short stories and was disappointed when they ended.
Maybe my issue is because I read Unaccustomed Earth first, but after a while and especially in this book, it feels like Lahiri is telling the same story over and over again. We get it - Bengalis coming to America in the 70s, their children dealing with issues that can only be described as #firstworldproblems, and the occasional flashback to the good old motherland where the story is as exotic and the characters are as simple and depth-less as can be. Throw in some white people for good measure for juxtapose the American identity with Indian values, am I right?
Jhumpa Lahiri has an excellent prose, and there was one passage in this book that made me go "wow" but sometimes I wonder why she is hailed as the great literary hope of the South Asian diaspora.
Jhumpa Lahiri has an excellent prose, and there was one passage in this book that made me go "wow" but sometimes I wonder why she is hailed as the great literary hope of the South Asian diaspora.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes