People on the Page
This collection of short stories is suffused with melancholy, yet I was not saddened or depressed by reading them. Many of them revolve around marriage, and many of the characters are lonely; it is their loneliness that makes them jump off the page, eager to share their burdens with the reader. I was engrossed in each story by the first paragraph, as Lahiri's elegant prose drew me in and carried me along.
I will certainly seek out her other work now, having seen how deep her characterization goes. Seeing people form on the page like this is a rare experience.
