Jhumpar Lahiri’s Whereabouts is an exquisite examination of one single woman’s life.
The short chapters form a series of vignettes, dropping few clues about where this woman lives and what she does. She is a university teacher, but she spends more time talking about her love of the stationery shop than she does about the actual job. She lives somewhere in Italy, but not much detail is given of her environs other than the locals she meets. She has lovers, usually married by her own admission, but we learn little about them.
The narrative is driven by the lack of plot, the lack of place, the lack of purpose. Life happens to this woman without any effort on her part.
Each chapter is a self-contained short story, describing her encounters with colleagues, shopkeepers, friends. The writing is spare, the effect is fascinating. The whole adds up to a life.
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