Excerpt from Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"It would be great, one day, to film this procession," he says. "You can't always see it, it depends on the position of the sun. But I'm always amazed, there's something hypnotizing about it. Even when I'm in a hurry, I stop to watch."

"So do I."

He pulls out his cell phone. "Should we try?"

"How does it look?" I ask.

"No good. This contraption can't capture them."

We continue to watch the mute spectacle, the dark bodies that advance, never stopping.

"Where are you headed?"

"Work."

"Me too."

"Should we have a coffee?"

"I don't have time today."

"Okay, ciao, see you soon."

We say goodbye, separate. Then we, too, become two shadows projected onto the wall: a routine spectacle, impossible to capture.

Excerpted from Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri. Copyright © 2021 by Jhumpa Lahiri. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.