the other language. francesca marciano. (209)

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)

unaccustomed earth. jhumpa lahiri (147)

(i forgot got to take a picture of the book i checked out.)

as seen in previous post, i am on a jhumpa lahiri kick.  prior to this i read, the namesake, and afterward will read the lowland.  i am actually proud of myself for reading her works in order of publication!  (sorry it's the same things that excite bookworms).

unaccustomed earth is another collection of short stories, and after having read both a novel and her collections of short stories, i have to say i think she is a better short story writer.  her novel seemed to meander around, uncertain of where to go or now to end.  in retrospect, i felt like things would go off on a tangent and not truly enhance the overall story.  whereas her short stories are concise and to the point which actually allows for a deeper emotional experience.  

if you haven't read this, i would stop here.  highly recommend this collection of short stories, which you should read and experience on your own first.  my post does go i to a lot of detail and has some spoilers.

i absolutely loved part two of the book:  "hems and kaushik".  i was not ready for the ending, and as much as i wanted it to end happily ever after, i know that it wasn't the way things were meant to be and i would have been unsatisfied with a fairy tale ending.  

"hema and kaushik" is three stories.  the first story, "once in a lifetime" is told from hema's perspective. it tells the story of how as an adolescent she fell in love with kaushik, when his family returned to the united states and lived with hema's family while they looked for a home.  kaushik discovered a family's burial area in the woods behind hema's family's home and there he shared with her that his mother is dying from cancer.  something she never shared with her family even when they complained about kaushik's family overstaying their welcome. 

the second story, "year's end", is the story of kaushik dealing with his father remarrying after his mother's death.  his father needing companionship, married a woman from india with two daughter from a previous marriage.  kaushik, initially unable to accept the marriage initially began to accepted it due to his two stepsisters.  however, one night while babysitting the girls, they discover a hidden box of photos of his mother.  overwhelmed by the memory of his mother and his father's new life, he attacks the girls verbally and leaves the house.  he ends up never returning home and begins a career as a photojournalist.

the final story, "going ashore", told from hema's perspective, as fate, would have it, hema and kaushik's path cross again in rome at a friend's lunch party.  they began a relationship but hema is to be married.  kaushik asked her to stay with him but hema realized does not ask her to marry him so she refuses.  a doomed fate as foreshadowed by the leaving of her grandmother's bracelet at airport security.  and sadly in the very end, kaushik died due to an earthquake in thailand.  it broke my heart that things ended this way.  i really wanted them to be together, but life doesn't always work out the way we want them to.  and sometimes we have to thing with our head as opposed to our heart.  furthermore, i was impressed that lahiri had me on a rollercoaster of emotions in just three stories, i kind wished she had turned hema and kaushik into a novel.  i also secretly hope that mira nair turns it into a movie.

the other stories were just as sad and emotional, the same beauty of "the interpreter of maladies" can be found in this collection as well.  four stories compose the first part of the book. i enjoyed "only goodness". it demonstrated what can occur when children are overindulged and addiction is ignored. it was sad that how the family was ill-equipped to deal with addiction and did not get the brother the help that he needed.

"hell-heaven" was my favorite because it demonstrated how often we forget that our parents have a history as well.  it's the story of a young girl and how her mother was secretly in love with a family friend, pranab chankarborty.  her love almost resulted tragically after pranab married an american.  the mother planned on setting herself on fire, overwhelmed by grief and love lost but a neighbor with a simple compliment ended up stopping her.  a story the narrator was told after a man broke her heart. 

but yes, another beautiful work by jhumpa lahiri.

interpreter of maladies. jhumpa lahiri.

i bought "interpreter of maladies" a while back at a $1 bookstore.  it had been sitting on my shelf but went on my to-read list when i saw this on mindy kaling's instagram:

and since i love mindy and think we could be BFF if we ever met, i decided to finally read "interpreter of maladies".

i must admit that at first i thought it was a novel, but then during the first story realized it was a collection of stories.  this disappointed me at first.  a book has to be a truly amazing collection of short stories for me to finish.  if there is a bad story, reading then becomes tedious and kind of ruins my attitude and ability with the rest of the book.  (see:  me reading the complete stories of flannery o'connor-  i will give her another try in the future.). but i didn't have to worry about that with this book because each story was truly amazing/beautiful.  i mean it did win the pulitzer so i should have known i was in for a treat.

every though the stories are short, you become invested in the characters and their lives.  each story was very emotional, i had to pause after each story to allow myself to process what i had read.  and though every story was different, they shared a theme of loneliness, longing, and love.  these stories demonstrated how we often suffer throughout life and the best option for us is not always the easiest but in the end we are better for taking the most challenging route.  many of the characters also learn that what they thought they wanted out of life is not what the needed.  each character has some void which they are trying to fill which regardless of what it may be is ultimately love.  

i know i have used the adjective alot in this post but these stories are beautiful.  i would rehash them here but you should pick it up for yourself and read it.

i will say the stories that i enjoyed the most were:

"the third and final continent" (i loved mrs. croft)

"a temporary matter" (it was only 20 pages but quite the emotional roller coaster, it had me teary-eyed in the end. which is a testament to lahiri's great writing)

"mrs. sen's" (partially due to her inability to drive")

"a real durwan" (which demonstrated that "you don't know what you've got til it's gone")

a truly beautiful (yes that adjective again) read.  please pick it up and enjoy.