Supriya's Banter
Roman Stories
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Translator: Todd Portnowitz
Publisher: Knopf; First Edition (October 10, 2023)
Language: English
Hardcover: 224 pages
Genre: Short Story Anthology/ Literary Fiction
The book is a traipse down the cobbled streets of Rome, boulevards, courtyards, and countryside and listening to the stories they whisper in your ears.
Lahiri makes Rome come alive through these stories. Her words paint such a vivid picture of the protagonists’ lives and circumstances that you can almost feel them breathing alongside you.
As a fan of Lahiri’s earlier work, I picked up the book as soon as I saw it in the stores. Needless to say, Lahiri has wowed me all over again.
This collection of nine stories, originally written by Lahiri in Italian and translated to English by Todd Portnowitz, dives deep into the heart of Rome. I could feel some abruptness in the narrative, perhaps due to it being translated work, but it did not mar my reading experience.
In “The Boundary,” Lahiri shows us a comforting yet melancholic side of a holiday home in the Roman countryside through the eyes of the caretaker’s young daughter. Her bitterness and ache slowly seep into the story as one becomes acquainted with her festering wounds.
“P’s Parties” starts as a social satire but quickly changes gears to include intense emotional themes. I think, the most impactful story is “Well-Lit House.” This story is about an immigrant who shifts into a dream house through state projects only to suffer the worst ordeal imaginable. The story broke my heart; deep down, it still hurts when I think about the protagonist of this story. Lahiri deserves applause for crafting such a layered yet real narrative that tugs at the reader’s heart.
The concluding tale, about the elusive Dante Alighieri, reads like a fable but holds a mirror to the contemporary world at the same time.
Rome, as a common thread, binds these stories together but Lahiri reveals an aspect previously unseen. One navigates the maze of alleyways and piazzas with the immigrants, refugees, and locals, only to get entangled in the hope, dreams and fears that throb at its very core. Delving deeper into the universal themes of identity, belonging, and the search for home, we roam from the crowded markets of Testaccio to the quiet courtyards.
These stories are melancholic, where sadness, loneliness and pain speak volumes without putting it in so many words.
If you’ve read Lahiri’s earlier work, you know what to expect.
These soul-searching stories would grow on you one story at a time and leave you asking for more.
Recommended for fans of literary fiction! These vibrant stories, steeped in emotions, will make you discover the beauty, pain, and resilience of human experience all over again.
