Infinite Joe

This is definitely one of the best books that I’ve read this year. As hard as I try, there is not one thing that I can point to in this book as being a deficiency. The prose was elegant and flowing, but never forced in a “look how smart I am” kind of way. I found myself frequently reading sentences over again in awe of how perfectly they were constructed. The characters were amazing, and were written in a way that made you feel that you had intimate knowledge of their innermost thoughts. The characters were so real that at times I even forgot I was reading a work of fiction. The plot swept multiple generations, and was gripping, thoughtful, hopeful, and heartbreaking at the same time. The book eloquently touches on themes of family, responsibility, loyalty, radicalism, and the consequences of the decisions we make, and how they not only have an immediate effect, but an effect that can span generations. This book was an unquestionable 5 stars, and along with Interpreter of Maladies, has easily elevated Jhumpa Lahiri onto my list of favorite authors.