A review by gh7blis
Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri

emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

The plotless book follows an unnamed female narrator in her mid-40's, living in an unknown Italian city/town. The story is divided to short vignettes that feel like diary entries titled by her locations (at the piazza, doctor's waiting room, her collegue's child's baptism by the sea, etc.).

The woman seems detached from her life, as she flips through her unhappy childhood, her ex lovers and daily groceries. She is introverted and often observes the people she encounters with vivid imaginations of strangers' lives.

This is my first novel from Lahiri, and I'm already loving the way she makes mundane things so captivating, incredibly moody and melancholic. I resonated a lot with the narrator and her want for human interaction.


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