“In Other Words” gives off the intoxication of metamorphosis, the title of one of her 24 chapters. The tone hasn’t a shred of the coquettish, nor is it monastic. Instead of “Eat, Pray, Love,” the reader finds a book situated in Italy without a single reference to food or prayer or sex. Lahiri’s sensibility exists in exquisite counterpoint to a culture besotted with selfies. It puts one in the company of a beautiful mind engaged in a sustained and bracing discipline.
Reading “In Other Words” is deeply pleasurable.
Thus, as an adult, as a writer, I rediscover the pleasure of reading.” I can’t take for granted my ability to accomplish it. I find the process more demanding yet more satisfying, almost miraculous. Every page seems to have a light covering of mist. Presented in a dual-language format, this is a wholly original book about exile, linguistic and otherwise, written with an intensity and clarity not seen since Vladimir Nabokov: a startling act of self-reflection and a provocative exploration of belonging and reinvention.“I read slowly, painstakingly. In Other Words, an autobiographical work written in Italian, investigates the process of learning to express oneself in another language and describes the journey of a writer seeking a new voice. There, she begins to read and to write - initially in her journal - solely in Italian. Seeking full immersion, she decides to move to Rome with her family, for "a trial by fire, a sort of baptism" into a new language and world. Although Lahiri studied Italian for many years afterward, true mastery always eluded her. For Jhumpa Lahiri, that love was for Italian, which first captivated and capsized her during a trip to Florence after college. It is at heart a love story - of a long and sometimes difficult courtship and a passion that verges on obsession: that of a writer for another language. From the best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize winner, a powerful nonfiction debut - an "honest, engaging, and very moving account of a writer searching for herself in words" ( Kirkus Reviews).
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