Jhumpa Lahiri explores the spaces of possibility and self
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By Felicity Plunkett
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Bloomsbury, $26.99
Jhumpa Lahiriâs new novel is poem-like in its patterning, intensity and pulse. A self-portrait composed obliquely, its short chapters collect a reserved and nameless narratorâs observations as she moves through public and private spaces in a beloved city. From this emerges a nuanced meditation on architectural and spatial definitions of self, and on community, solitude and loneliness. The chapter titlesâ prepositions â âOn the sidewalkâ, âIn the Piazzaâ, âAt the Ticket Counterâ â describe a syntax of self where subject, object, tense and relationships lay, or undo, a lifeâs foundations.