Book: Roman Stories
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Genre: Short-stories
Format: Paperback
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
In her latest book, ‘Roman Stories’, an anthology of nine short-stories; three of which are purely novellas, Lahiri portrays Rome, as her protagonist, through the lens of locals, immigrants, and the millennials, the prose brimming with surreal pathos. Much like her previous book, Whereabouts, these stories were originally written in Italian, and Lahiri self-translated six out of nine into English. The other three have been translated by Todd Portnowitz.
The Plot
The common thread in all the stories is the city of Rome, the capital of Italy. Essentially, we follow different characters, natives, and non-natives, going about their mundane lives in this multi-layered city. While one story follows a family vacation in the Roman countryside, other stories follow a Roman couple looking for comfort and community with foreigners at their friend’s yearly birthday gathering, a loyal husband facing a strange seduction, a migrant woman receiving racist notes by her students, simple stories of neighborhoods and the residents, people of colour, a refugee, etc. Through the stories, we see the diverse social and cultural aspects of Rome marked by the complexities of shifting visibility and invisibility, occasional aggression and violence, the endeavor to navigate between different worlds and cultures, and the significance of the concept of home.
“Certain stories are hard to bear, as are certain things we’ve lived or observed or fumbled or explored with great care.
The Characters
All the characters in ‘Roman Stories’ are unnamed; following pretty much the style of her last book ‘Whereabouts’. Once again, these are brimming with homesickness, wallowing in melancholy, pining for desires that can never be fulfilled. They move past and beyond the different feelings of longing, loss, and search for belongingness. A good few of them are immigrants now who have moved out of their homelands, settled elsewhere, returning to Italy for varied reasons. The anxiousness of their cultural values and identity never leaves them. The collection is a plethora of voices, written from the perspectives of men, women, and the elderly. At some point, you will find the characters come out of the page, hand-hold you and lead you into their myriad worlds.
“It’s strange to feel married, in the end, more to a place than to a person. I hope to die here and nowhere else.”
The Settings
The beautiful city of Rome; one which Lahiri herself has lost her heart to, is the place where all of her stories unfold. She describes the beauty of Rome with affection and purpose and pays homage to Rome in this way, a sentiment that resonates with her own situation as she, too, is no longer a full-time resident, going back and forth between Rome and New York for teaching purposes, mirroring the experiences of protagonists in these narratives. Lahiri also highlights the city’s current state of crisis and decline, portraying it as under siege. She writes of the walls and street signs that are marred by xenophobic graffiti, and landmarks are frequented by thugs amidst litter and broken glass. The narrative unveils a harsh reality where outsiders, judged based on accents, histories, skin color, or clothing choices, face discrimination and suspicion.
“For a few hours after midnight, this ancient city seems to belong only to the young: a joyful kingdom, ephemeral, all their own.”
The Writing and Language
The prose is simple and engaging typical of all the standard elements one expects of a Lahiri book. But the ambiguities due to the first-person narratives feels like beating a dead horse. Having said that, one can’t deny that Lahiri is a word-wizard because of her ability to articulate emotions in a way only Tolstoy was capable of. Her classic style reverberates through all of her books whether Namesake, Unaccustomed Earth, or the Lowland, and yet, with Roman Stories, I found myself slowly losing the love of years, for her words were suddenly dried up of the Indianness that made her style exquisite. It was as if a close friend had changed!
Final Verdict
Roman Stories is a collection of emotionally-charged stories that try too hard to drive the point that feels labored owing to its repetitive style, long-drawn narratives, and ambiguous characters. The quintessential in Lahiri’s prose is losing itself in her new-found love for the European city and an admirer’s heart aches to realise that perhaps waiting with bated breath for her next release might not really be a craving anymore. But will the heart ever stop longing for the one who has soothed it of its emotional highs and lows? Only Lahiri’s quill can tell!
Author Profile
Jhumpa Lahiri, born in London and raised in Rhode Island, is known for her exploration of Indian-American, particularly Bengali, immigrant experiences. She obtained multiple degrees from Boston University, including a Ph.D. in Renaissance Studies. Lahiri’s writing career took off with her debut work, “Interpreter of Maladies,” which earned her the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2000. She has taught creative writing at institutions like Boston University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Lahiri is married to journalist Alberto Vourvoulias-Bush and currently resides in Rome with their two children.
Have you read ‘Roman Stories’? What did you think?
