If certain books are to be termed 'immigrant fiction,' what do we call the rest? Native fiction? Puritan fiction? This distinction doesn't agree with me.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
When I am experiencing a complex story or novel, the broader planes, and also details, tend to fall away.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Complex narratives can make broader themes and finer details blend into a singular experience, overshadowing individual components.
In this quote, Jhumpa Lahiri reflects on the immersive nature of storytelling, where the intricate layers and detailed aspects of a complex narrative can become overwhelming, leading to a unified but less distinct experience. This highlights the power of literature to transport readers into a different realm, where the finer points may be overshadowed by the emotional and thematic depth of the story itself.
Themes
StorytellingNarrativeComplexityLiteratureImmersion
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nuances of a novel during a book club meeting.
More from Jhumpa Lahiri
All quotes βWhen I sit down to write, I don't think about writing about an idea or a given message. I just try to write a story which is hard enough.
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I think each time you start a story or novel or whatever, you are absolutely at the bottom of the ladder all over again. It doesn't matter what you've done before.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
The sky was different, without color, taut and unforgiving. But the water was the most unforgiving thing, nearly black at times, cold enough, I knew, to kill me, violent enough to break me apart. The waves were immense, battering rocky beaches without sand. The farther I went, the more desolate it became, more than any place I'd been, but for this very reason the landscape drew me, claimed me as nothing had in a long time.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
On the technical side, I hope that my writing is evolving and maturing, ripening, deepening.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
I always wanted to grow up in a house full of books, English books, and I wanted the sort of fireplaces that worked, overstuffed chairs, that whole kind of fantasy of a bookish New England life. So the library gave me that; for the hours that I was there, I was surrounded by that atmosphere that I craved in my life.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
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