Audacity Book Club: March Read

By Nic Daniels

Happy March, audacious readers!

Just like the month says we’re going to keep moving through 2022 with new reads, even in these rough times. Last month, we celebrated Black History Month with Ain’t Never Not Been Black by Javon Johnson and Helium by Rudy Fransico. This month, we’re jumping back into fiction with the introspective novel, Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Translated from Italian, the story stars an unnamed, possibly Indian, female narrator living in an unnamed town in Italy as she contemplates her solitary life in the span of a year. Often alone, she goes through the motions of her life truly wondering if where she is—living alone with an okay job and the occasional friend—is the peak of it. We get acquainted with her regular group of friends, including her parents, lovers, colleagues at her job, casual acquaintances, and “him,” the distant apple of her eye. We quickly get used to her life and the assumption that it will always be this way—until it’s not.

In this book, we walk a mile in the characters shoes, getting to know her through her mundane but relatable life. It lets the reader explore the quieter parts of living that we often try to distract ourselves from. Through our narrator, we’re left to contemplate these spaces and how they shape us. We also see how the smallest waves can cause unexpected change, for better or worse.

Whereabouts is about who we are when we’re alone, the person we are in the tucked away corners of our home, and what we hide to present ourselves to the world. This book is available wherever all books are sold as well as your local library. I hope you enjoy it and make sure to check out the full review at the end of the month.

Until then, don’t forget to read audaciously!