Tagore was the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was Bengali, with roots in what are now #India and #Bangladesh. Gitanjali is a collection of spiritual poems written in Bengali, and translated by the author himself into a style of English that takes some getting used to, but it is worth it.
#FoodandLit
@Catsandbooks @Texreader
pickI have been revisiting this book at different stages of my life. At every stage I‘ve related to different characters based on my situation at the time. The morsels of Bengali reference throughout the book kept me hooked as well.
Jhumpa Lahiri‘s characters; most of them have a streak of melancholy in them. Many of the characters walk the morally ambiguous grey path, you end up wondering who to rally behind throughout all the stories.
pickWhen Bimila is encouraged by her husband Nikhil to exercise more freedom than is usual for a woman of her status in Bengal in the first decade of the 20th century, she comes under the influence of Nikhil's friend Sandip, a charismatic radical nationalist.
Although I found it a bit heavy-going at times, especially in the more rhetorical passages, I kept reading, fascinated to see how events would play out.
What a delightful book about a grandmother who crosses the jungle to go see her daughter and grandchildren! I read it online on everand, but will buy the paper version for the grandkid. I think it will speak to her just as much as it spoke to me.
#India
pickI loved the title story:a retired&widowed father visits his grown daughter who is pregnant with her second child,her husband is on a business trip&it‘s told alternating from father then daughter perspective.I loved the metaphor of the garden&how beautifully Lahiri writes feelings,relationships,domestic scenes.Overall though I found myself bailing on many of the other stories precisely because of that.I wanted a bit more variety in plot.Soft pick.
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Also tagging @TheBookHippie, just in case. (edited) 1d