PASSAGE TO INDIA

If anyone was in doubt of Jhumpa Lahiri’s star power, they aren’t any longer. It’s rare that a book of serious fiction should leap to No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list within two weeks of its publication. But that’s just what happened with the Pulitzer Prize winner and Brooklyn-based author’s latest book, Unaccustomed Earth, a wonderful collection of short stories about the Indian-American experience that follows her acclaimed 2003 novel, The Namesake, which was turned into a Mira Nair–directed film last year. Tonight, she’ll be reading and discussing her new book and signing copies at the Strand. (Expect a long line.) And if you can’t make it for that, catch her May 8 at BookCourt (163 Court Street) in Brooklyn.
Wed., April 30, 7 p.m., 2008