“It’s the kind of room that makes me hate the world.”

What an experiment — a novel with no plot, about a woman whose name we don’t know, set in an unidentified location. It’s a collection of descriptions of how the protagonist responds to her surroundings. NPR compared the book to “slow cooking” that requires patience. The New York Times compared it to a photographer’s contact sheet, which reveals a story as the images change.  Does it work?  I think it presents the sort of test that is designed to reveal information about the person who is taking the test. I loved being immersed in the intimate, electric perceptions of a stranger.

Lahiri, Jhumpa. Whereabouts. Alfred A. Knopf, 2021, p. 52.

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