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
It was important to me to become day-to-day fluent and functional in another language, and about 10 years ago, I went to Rome for the first time and felt an instant gut connection and wanted to get to know the city.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Learning another language opens up new experiences and connections with different cultures.
Jhumpa Lahiri expresses the significance of becoming fluent in a different language, highlighting how this effort enriches one’s life experiences. Her trip to Rome ignited a deep connection to the city, emphasizing that language is not just a tool for communication but a gateway to understanding and immersing oneself in new cultures and environments.
Themes
LanguageCultureConnectionEducationTravel
In practice
Example use cases
When giving a speech about cultural appreciation at a conference.
More from Jhumpa Lahiri
All quotes →When 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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When I am experiencing a complex story or novel, the broader planes, and also details, tend to fall away.
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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.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
On the technical side, I hope that my writing is evolving and maturing, ripening, deepening.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
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