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Roman Stories
Current price:
$29.00
Publication Date: November 21st, 2023
Publisher:
Random House Large Print
ISBN:
9780593793015
Pages:
256
Usually Ships in 1 to 5 Days
Staff Reviews
I thought I’d indulge myself with a short-story at bedtime, but nope, Lahiri’s stories kept me up at night, thinking about each character, unable to fall asleep! Each of the nine stories takes place in Rome, and the characters are deliberately left unnamed, lest the reader categorize them in a particular immigrant/migrant “box.” Although the characters are from different places, all of them share a sense of not belonging, not feeling fully at home. The theme of alienation runs throughout each story, but in different ways. I could almost feel the author’s rage throughout these insightful stories, which gives an opportunity for pause, to think about the many trials migrants experience. Could our own actions be a part of the trials and alienation they face?
—
Virgie
Description
The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Interpreter of Maladies returns with her first short story collection since the publication of her number one New York Times best seller Unaccustomed Earth—a major literary event and a tour de force
Nine mesmerizing stories saturated in the details of Roman life that showcase Jhumpa Lahiri’s extraordinary range and virtuosity.
An immigrant family confronts the devastating aftershocks of racial violence. A young couple discovers the joy of domestic comfort and then spirals into unrelenting misfortune. A group of strangers orbit each other unknowingly as they ascend and descend the ancient steps that anchor their neighborhood. An annual garden party sews the seed of a haunting marital betrayal. In story after story, Lahiri delivers her richest and most stirring work yet in a collection whose themes reverberate with the tensions of modern urban life: dislocation and deracination, visibility and invisibility, the difficulty of straddling worlds and cultures, the meaning of home. Roman Stories is a magnificent testament to Lahiri’s dazzling style and unalloyed mastery of the short form.
Praise for Roman Stories
“Each narrative contains deftly drawn vignettes of the entwined lives of Italians and foreigners of different classes, colors, ages and creeds.” —Wall Street Journal
“Electric . . . Elegant . . . The fluid transitions between Lahiri’s and Portnowitz’s translations elevate Roman Stories from a grouping of individual tales to a deeply moving whole.” —The New York Times
"A delectable, sun-washed treat . . . the stories have the beating heart of the city itself, a place of magnificent decay and vibrant, varied life." —Vogue
“Heartrending. . . affecting . . . [Lahiri] powerfully conveys her characters' valiant efforts to navigate geographic and cultural relocations and find their place in the world.” —NPR
"Dazzling." —People
"Masterful . . . Lahiri brilliantly delineates her characters' triumphs and trials." —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“A dazzling collection of nine stories originally written in Italian and featuring characters who grapple with vast emotional and social chasms that cleave the lives of families, longtime friends, and immigrants . . . Throughout, Lahiri’s luminous prose captures a side of Rome often ignored . . . These unembroidered yet potent stories shine.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A brilliant return to the short story form by an author of protean accomplishments . . . Filled with intelligence and sorrow, these sharply drawn glimpses of Roman lives create an impressively unified effect.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Stunning . . . A finely calibrated collection about insiders and outsiders, natives and foreigners . . . Rome with its echoing past and mercurial present is a potently evocative setting for Lahiri’s exquisitely incisive, richly empathetic, and profoundly resonant stories.” —Booklist (starred review)
