"A young boy can feel small in a world made up of big, big things, but when he takes a closer look, he discovers that he is big, too"--

Bertie the giraffe oversleeps and becomes separated from her herd, but a new friend helps him get home and gives him a new perspective in the process.

Exuberance and dread, attachment and estrangement: in this novel, Jhumpa Lahiri stretches her themes to the limit. The woman at the center wavers between stasis and movement, between the need to belong and the refusal to form lasting ties. The city she calls home, an engaging backdrop to her days, acts as a confidant: the sidewalks around her house, parks, bridges, piazzas, streets, stores, coffee bars. We follow her to the pool she frequents and...