"I am not the only ... and certainly ... not the first."

photo: Jhumpa

My friend Eli shared this passage on Facebook today. When I asked her about it, she suggested that I watch "The Namesake" and read Jhumpa Lahiri's work.

"While the astronauts, heroes forever, spent mere hours on the moon, I have remained in this new world for nearly thirty years. I know that my achievement is quite ordinary. I am not the only man to seek his fortune far from home, and certainly I am not the first. Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination."

- Jhumpa Lahiri


This film, released in 2006, is based on Jhumpa's 2003 novel "The Namesake." I loved the trailer. I'm looking forward to watching the entire film.