flavorpill listed the other language as a must read for april. i thought the cover was cute and the jhumpa lahiri blurb was a positive sign so i decided to check it out.
and glad i did, you can judge a book by a cover! it's a wonderful collection of short stories that made me want to travel to italy. well more like buy a home in an old italian village like "the presence of men".
like other collections i have read and loved this year, every story felt complete like a collection of mini novels. they reminded me of lahiri's short stories as well.
my absolute favorite was "quantum theory". it's the story of two people that keep on randomly running into each other. and it's random, the last time they met is in new york. they originally met at a party, but things didn't head anywhere. however, that first encounter is often looked upon with regret based upon their chemistry when they randomly run into each other. it's a beautiful story of what could have been, though in the end they recognize all that they do have and find the most value in that. they also learn that "love has many faces."
i also enjoyed "chanel". the story of an up-and-coming film director that decided on a whim to buy a chanel dress for an awards ceremony she was attending. however, the ceremony was not televised so she did not wear the dress and sadly her career never took off. the dress sat in her closet, as a reminder of what she never achieved in life. in the end, she was going to sell but ended up saving it as a reminder of all the greatness she had in life:
perhaps she just needed to remind herself more often how that gold was still floating above her head, it's minuscule particles visible only when pierced by a certain light
i loved the ending of the title story, "the other language". after reading about summers spent in greece and meeting up with long-lost friends, in the end it was simply a wife recanting her childhood to her husband. she returning to her memories yet only telling him parts she wanted to reveal. the other language was a coming-of-age story in which emma, the main character, learned that life is not always as it appears and that not all that glitters is gold. after the death of her mother, her father took her and her siblings to a small greek village where they recover and have an enjoyable summer, intrigued by the people they encounter. emma, after being unable to communicate with two english boys, learn english when she returned to rome. on the next trip, the return back to greece wanting to create their previous summer, but sadly it is not the same. emma, in fact, lost her virginity to one of the english boys (sadly not the one she liked and it was more like rape) but the worse was discovering that her mother had committed suicide. its tough lesson knowing that the world can be a source of suffering versus pleasure. though tragic she did see the silver lining that her learning english helped her end up where she was today.
i loved "the italian system" and would read it in the book within the story was a real book. i wonder if marciano toyed with the idea of actually writing it but then just used it in this short story instead. it's the story of a woman that is writing about how italians stay so chic only to return to italy to see how americanized it is. boo americanization! (this is my sediment not the author's.)
all the story are truly wonderful. and this is an excellent collection of short stories. and the cover would make any bookshelf look cute! (i have actually debated buying it just to display on a bookshelf. lol)
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