A Reliable Source

Of the feedback I've received about my blog, few things gratify me more than a reader telling me they've enjoyed a book, film, or piece of music they learned of here. But give me no credit for today's unqualified recommendation.    

My wife began her relentless campaign to get me to read "The Lowland" (2013) soon after finishing it. I understand her impulse, don't you? A novel this incandescent leaves a glow on a receptive reader. What was the last book that dominated your conversation for weeks, one you couldn't wait to recommend to your own reading posse? If the few years that have passed between my wife's reading of Jhumpa Lahiri's timeless tale have dimmed her memory of the sweep of the plot, the flawless etching of characters, the wisdom that infuses Lahiri's stunning prose, I'll be bummed. Conversations with my wife about the particulars in books that have transported both of us are a highlight of my intellectual life. Who in your life helps provide this kind of sustenance?

If you're not a novel reader, let me recommend an equally excellent entrée to the work of this gifted author. The 2006 film "The Namesake" is based on Lahiri's earlier novel of the same name. I suspect after spending two hours with that film you will be tempted to go further. Next stop - Try Lahiri's book of short stories - "The Interpreter of Maladies" (1999). After those experiences, "The Lowland" beckons. Don't take my word for it; trust my wife.