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.
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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.
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On the technical side, I hope that my writing is evolving and maturing, ripening, deepening.
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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.
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