Roman Stories Audiobook By Jhumpa Lahiri, Todd Portnowitz - translator cover art

Roman Stories

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Roman Stories

By: Jhumpa Lahiri, Todd Portnowitz - translator
Narrated by: Deepti Gupta, Carlotta Brentan, Cassandra Campbell, Ari Fliakos, Michael Obiora
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.00

Buy for $18.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: THE NEW YORKER, NPR • The first short story collection by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and master of the form since her number one New York Times best seller Unaccustomed Earth • Rome—metropolis and monument, suspended between past and future, multi-faceted and metaphysical—is the protagonist, not the setting, of these nine stories

"A delectable, sun-washed treat . . . the stories have the beating heart of the city itself, a place of magnificent decay and vibrant, varied life."—Vogue

In “The Boundary,” one family vacations in the Roman countryside, though we see their lives through the eyes of the caretaker’s daughter, who nurses a wound from her family’s immigrant past. In “P’s Parties,” a Roman couple, now empty nesters, finds comfort and community with foreigners at their friend’s yearly birthday gathering—until the husband crosses a line.

And in “The Steps,” on a public staircase that connects two neighborhoods and the residents who climb up and down it, we see Italy’s capital in all of its social and cultural variegations, filled with the tensions of a changing city: visibility and invisibility, random acts of aggression, the challenge of straddling worlds and cultures, and the meaning of home.

These are splendid, searching stories, written in Jhumpa Lahiri’s adopted language of Italian and seamlessly translated by the author and by Knopf editor Todd Portnowitz. Stories steeped in the moods of Italian master Alberto Moravia and guided, in the concluding tale, by the ineluctable ghost of Dante Alighieri, whose words lead the protagonist toward a new way of life.

©2023 Jhumpa Lahiri (P)2023 Random House Audio
Fiction Literary Fiction Short Stories Italy City
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Interview: Jhumpa Lahiri denounces "being authentic"

'I think we need to sort of get some perspective on the word authenticity and what it means...'
-0.00
  • Roman Stories
  • 'I think we need to sort of get some perspective on the word authenticity and what it means...'

What listeners say about Roman Stories

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    21
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    18
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

the painful lives

The stories difficult lives are written in a such dispassionate way made me keep rethinking why .
Thought provoking .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful.

Don't mind the traffic jams if I'm listening to JL. Estas historias son un bálsamo.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

beautiful heartbreaking stories

absolutely loved it. so beautiful and detailed oriented yet set in the middle of the greyness in our lives

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A repertoire of fine stories

It is uncommon to find good literature written in a second language. The examples that come to mind (Wilde, Nabokov, Beckett, Conrad …) only prove the point. But this authoress writes with flavor and makes for a very good entertainment. Taste it !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Roman steps

I love the author of this book did not disappoint… I found it very intriguing and enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

one of my favorite authors writes a gloomy book

why is everyone so sad in Rome. why are people in the city so hostile?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

I adored this book! The narration was wonderful. Each story was beautifully written and haunting. It’s a must for lovers of short stories and fans of Jhumpa Lahiri.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Emotional resonance

Loved lyrical quality of her writing
Able to touch moist poignant sentiments and make aspects og stories hauntingly beautiful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The twist of the story

I like this because it was an easy read. I am able to listen to this while doing something else and not missing anything.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!