Unaccustomed Earth's Swift Rise

Published Apr 15 2008, 05:33 PM by Sharon Steel

Yesterday, we told you about Sloane Crosley's debut on the Times's nonfiction paperback bestseller list, yet we neglected to rhapsodize about the #1 book on the hardcover fiction list. That would be Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri's (former Boston resident and graduate of BU's Creative Writing program) critically lauded Unaccustomed Earth. As Editorial Ass noted, this is fantastic news for short story writers and writers of serious fiction. We have not yet gotten our hands on a copy of Earth, but we are dying to read it after The New Yorker excerpted a story back when. Hurrah for Lahiri! We are, and have long been, huge fans. Too bad she doesn't read reviews -- she might not even know how well her book is doing right out of the gate, according to Paper Cuts.