In Other Words

In Other Words

From the best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize winner, a powerful nonfiction debut about her relationship with language.

At its heart, In Other Words is a love story—of a long and sometimes difficult courtship, and a passion that verges on obsession. Jhumpa Lahiri has been enamored with the Italian language ever since it first captivated and capsized her during a trip to Florence after college.

Nonetheless, true mastery has always eluded her. Seeking full immersion, she decides to move to Rome with her family, where she begins to read and write solely in Italian. In this autobiographical work, written in her adopted tongue, Lahiri investigates the process of learning to express herself in another language, and describes the journey of a writer seeking a new voice.

A startling act of self-reflection and a provocative exploration of belonging and reinvention, here is Jhumpa Lahiri as we have never seen her before.