Mimi Hedwig

Elegant, spare, sad. It's an impressionistic character study rather than a conventionally structured novel with a plot and developed relationships. But the nameless main character comes vividly to life with these few brushstrokes. It's fascinating that Lahiri first wrote this in Italian and then translated it herself; with her earlier Italian book, In Other Words, she hired the eminent translator Ann Goldstein to render it in English rather than sully her own command of Italian by privileging her native tongue. As a student of Italian and a frequent visitor to Italy I discern an Italian sensibility pervading this, and would like to read it in the original language. I respect the fluency and, more than that, the cultural immersion, that Lahiri has achieved through her love of all things Italian and her diligent study to make another language her own.