...but me gagging as I read the latest NYTimes "By the Book" interview.
I suppose there are real people who are impeccably cultured and intelligently discuss collections of obscure Italian short stories, has read the same novel in three languages, and name drops poets she meets in Rome, but...what am I saying--that person really does exist. Her name is Jhumpa Lahiri. I own two of her books though I haven't read them yet. There's no rush since they were purchased for fifty cents at library book sales. With full-price books I feel the need to read them immediately to get my money out of them, but with second-hand books, I let them sit around until I'm in urgent need of morning commuter train reading material, and then I rush into my library, pull a book off the shelf, and fly out the door, secure in the knowledge that if my train breaks down for an hour in a tunnel, at least I won't be bored. After reading this interview with Jhumpa, I may be leaving hers on the shelf a little longer.
