Jhumpa Lahiri on Writing
I've been thinking a lot about the writing process and issues of cultural displacement recently and the author Jhumpa Lahiri came to mind. Her books are filled with characters torn between different cultures - usually Indian and North American. I found an interview of hers online in which she talks about her writing process and how she navigated life between two cultures. It makes for interesting reading. I wonder when she'll be coming out with something new, because I really enjoy her books.On a slightly different note, the film-maker, Mira Nair, was/is adapting "The Namesake" into a movie and I really hope she does the book justice, because I LOVED that book. I think Mira Nair is a talented film-maker and I also believe that she can relate to many of the book's themes, having lived in several countries herself, so really it should be a great film. Shouldn't that be coming out sometime soon?
6 comments:
Thanks for that link, Ore.
I enjoy Jhumpa Lahiri, especially the themes she deals with, like displacement and belonging. I enjoyed the Interpreter of Maladies very much. I'm onto the Namesake now.
Oh, I hope you enjoy it. It's one of my favourite books. Let me know what you think about it.
Thanks Ore for stopping by...and sharing your thoughts on the subject..."the writing process".
Don't be too scared to put your thoughts and experiences down...
It begins with a few paragraphs and then, a page, then another,and another... before you know it, you have a chapter.We'll get there some day!
i love the interpreter of maladies. i think i'll read it again.
Just finished reading the Namesake, Ore.
Hmm, I don't know. One of the things I loved about the interpreter of maladies was the 'smirk', 'the naughty twinkle in the eye' that I sensed with Jhumpa.
I was a little surprised by her restraint here.
Perhaps the problem was me, though. Perhaps I'd lumped her together with other colourful Indian writers when she has a personality all her own.
In places, she reminded me quite strongly about Anne Tyler, who writes about not physical displacement, but social dispacement.
Ok, this was meant to be the 'in brief.' Perhaps more later, when I've had more time to think about what I think.
Hi Rombo,
Sorry to hear that you were somewhat under-whelmed by The Namesake. I read Interpreter years ago and so cannot remember the nuances of her writing.
From The Namesake and from interviews I have seen of JL, one of the things that stood out for me was indeed her restraint in writing and speech. I think she says just what she feels she needs to say and leaves the reader to color in the rest.
I will have to re-read Interpreters again.
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