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Summary: Very enlightening and worthy of the Pulitzer Prize
Review: This is one of the finest collection of short stories. It is about Indians and Indian Americans. Living overseas, many Indians have stayed within their communities and therefore many of us really do not understand them. This book helps gives us a perspective of the overseas Indian.I passed this book around my office to see what others thought of it, and to my surprise everyone thought the stories were of the highest calibre. If nothing else it enables the average person to understand the sometimes aloof Indian American, that appears to be reluctant to assimilate into American society.
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Summary: Breathtakingly passionate
Review: I first read the title story in The Best American Short Stories anthology for 1999 and appreciated it so much, I immediately bought this book. Ms. Lahiri is a remarkable writer because she puts substance over style. So many short stories these days are technically fancy with convoluted plots, dizzying metaphors, and esoteric words. Ms. Lahiri writes beautifully but simply. The art lies in her ability to take a remarkable story and convey it clearly and with a wonderful sense of timing. .... And I think that is just the tip of the iceberg for this young writer. Her stories are gripping and her prose beautifully suited for the theater. Buy this book. It is a quick and rewarding read.
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Summary: A cross cultural view of life
Review: The best thing about Interpreter of maladies is its simple,elegant and natural style of describing the human situations in a cross cultural context.The flow of language is smooth.Jhumpa Lahiri has a good command and understanding of both Indian and American cultures.The result is a mature ,subtle depiction of human relationships which is at once clear to readers across both the countries.In fact, the stories go beyond the two countries and cover within their fold the general problems of people born in one culture who have migrated to another culture.Their predicament is real and the stories by Jhumpa Lahiri cover successfully the complex emotions of people caught in a cross cultural context. The best story that I liked in the book was'The Blessed House'.Sanjeev has a typical mentality of an Indian who has imbibed Indian culture to the extent that it makes him narrow and restricted in his views and opinions.His wife Twinkle,though an Indian has a more liberated view of the world.Her parents live in California while Sanjeev's parents live in Calcutta inIndia.At the urgings of their matchmakers,they married in India.Twinkle takes the discovery of statues relating to christianity as a sign of the house being blessed while Sanjeev is bothered that these things may be misinterpreted by people in presuming them to be christians.These differences in their perceptions increase so much that their marriage itself gets threatened.The story very powerfully depicts the consequences of different cultures on the personal and married lives of the two persons;however fails to provide any solutions.Perhaps there are no readymade solutions to cultural problems.The Third and The Final Continent is another powerful story which is semi autobiographical. The book is an ideal gift material.
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Summary: Wonderful insights into the Indian experience
Review: I read this book after my mother raved about it. It is a wonderful collection of short stories about people from India living in the US. Each one is poignant and sensitive, several are humorous. It leaves memories in your mind and heart that come back to you later (for me, a sign of a good book). I am not from India and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wonder how people who have had experiences similar to these stories feel about it. A great bedside book, each story can be read in a sitting.
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Summary: Simple, perfect stories...
Review: ...that provide a window into Indian-American culture. Vivid description and deft character development make each short story in this collection a masterpiece of communication and a snapshot of life in an increasingly global society.
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Summary: Hauntingly beautiful slices of life
Review: I eagerly looked forward to reading the latest Pulitzer Prize-winner and was not disappointed. I found the author's voice to be rich without being overly self-conscious. The images and characters she created have been sticking in my mind for some time now. If you like short stories that reveal the depths of the human condition without being preachy, then this may be what you're looking for.
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Summary: This is a book worth owning
Review: I don't normally like reading short stories, because so often they don't have a chance to develop characters or stories. But Lahiri manages to do both, very well, in this book. As the daughter of someone who had left her country and family to marry an American, I could appreciate what it is like to live far from family and country. Most of these stories describe the immigrant experience, what it is like to live between two countries (India and the US, in this collection), to try to fit into a new culture while grieving for what has been lost. One of her stories involves a couple born and raised in the US, who go back to India to visit their parents, who have returned to live there. The American-born family dresses and behaves American, and yet in important ways, they exist between the two cultures, fitting into neither. Another story involves an American success story, an Indian-born engineer who marries an Indian-American in a combination of arranged marriage/love match -- they have both assimilated, but in different ways. He wants her to be able to mingle comfortably with his coworkers, but he also would like her to cook Indian food. She has taken up the American habit of picking up American takeout food (potato salad in sealed containers, made who knows when). Even more disturbing to him is her fascination with Christian symbols and artwork, which she keeps coming across in the house he's bought for them. She insists upon keeping and displaying these finds, while he insists that as good Hindus, this is inappropriate. This conflict of assimilation -- how much of the culture of the new country you can you take in, and in what ways -- is the kind of story that you think about long after you've finished it. Lahiri's writing style is clear and simple, almost as if you're overhearing a conversation at the next table in a restaurant. This book would make an excellent present.
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Summary: wonderful prose
Review: Jhumpa has created a masterpiece of prose and eloquence that is quite difficult to put into words. As an Indian American it is great to see such outstanding work in a field where indians traditionally have strayed from. A must read
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Summary: American Life - American Maladies
Review: The land that makes up America is vast and diverse. Yet, upon this diversity lies a certain familiarity that comes with individualsEpursuit of the ideal American life. Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulitzer Prize winning, debut literary effort, "Interpreter of MaladiesE manages to present and illustrate diversity and familiarity in American lives. Lahiri, who was born in England, raised in America, and whose parents were born and raised in India, uses this collection of short stories to depict the many facets of American life. Lahiri takes a straightforward approach to poignantly display the intricacies in emotion common in the pursuit of happiness and a slice of the pie that is the American dream. Marriage, a concept and idea that surfaces whenever examination of happiness or goal setting in America takes place, and family life are dissected throughout this collection. A study of idealization is prevalent all the way through these stories. Whether taking a look at an immigrant couple in America, recently married "strangersE a couple seemingly on the verge of divorce, or a distantly married couple with a dirty secret, Lahiri manages to display a portrait of life and pursuit of happiness that includes marriage. Aside from examining marriage itself, however, Lahiri is successful in using marriage as a metaphor for life. Just as there are many approaches to life there are many approaches to marriage. Throughout "Interpreter of MaladiesEwe see examples of this notion. In the collection's very fitting first story, "A Temporary MatterE Lahiri exhibits one shining example. In this story a once happily married couple fall out of love as they cope with the reality of losing a child. While this couple, Shoba and Shukumar, once looked forward to the future with a child together, together they now seem to dread it along with the present. Subtly, yet suddenly there is an extreme transition of emotion and feelings. Such occurrences happen frequently in life as well as in marriage. Though marriage depends on and can be a source of strength, it remains an implicitly fragile institution. While individuals in marriage and their respective strength and identity can and do remain intact, the marriage itself can dissolve. Life, too, is very fragile. The stillborn child in this story is evidence of that. Life ceased to exist rather abruptly and managed to completely alter the lives of this couple. While once their pursuit of happiness seemed to lie upon the same road, this road now seems to fork into different directions. Other stories display different marriages or relationships and the role they play in individualsEpursuit of a life of fulfillment. The most glaring contrast to that of Shoba and Shukumar, is the marriage in "The Third and Final ContinentE In this story, Lahiri seems to focus and develop the Bengali man's story by having him act as narrator. Initially and perhaps ultimately, his marriage is one of duty. A duty "regarded with neither objection or enthusiasmEthat was "expected of every man.E There is no overwhelming passion that brings upon or accompanies this marriage, nor, any expectations of this marriage other than what is dictated by obligation. This man is striving to succeed and the marriage is merely a factor he must incorporate with success and eventual happiness. Soon, however, there is a hint of burgeoning affection. Finally, the narrator informs the reader of their "successEas of yet, as he looks back with fondness and forward with hope and optimism. The major strength in this collection is Lahiri's straightforward writing approach and style. She writes of situations that are familiar to most, if not all. Aside from the extremes in "A Temporary MatterEand "Third and final ContinentE Lahiri delves into quite a bit in between. With Mrs. Sen in "Mrs. Sen'sEthe reader sees a recent immigrant lady, isolated and lonely. She is in a distant, yet comfortable marriage. Outside of her homeland and married life she seems helpless and hopeless. Still, she doesn't seem to want more or less out of marriage, but does so out of life. In "This Blessed HouseEthere are potentially divisive situations and issues that are put in perspective and squelched through the realization of love and it's importance to the parties involved. If there is a weakness in this collection, it is that the majority of the stories and the book itself aren't very "cheerfulE Still, it is a minor weakness, if it is to be considered a weakness at all. Lahiri is telling several stories here. Stories that mirror real life. Life is an ongoing process that does not have an "endingEof any specific nature other than death itself. Lahiri does not provide any definitive answers in the "endingEof these individual stories, because, quite frankly, she cannot. Do Shoba and Shukumar eventually travel down the same road again? Does the narrator in "Third and Final ContinentEcarry on with his "happyElife? Whatever becomes of Mrs. Sen or the Kapasis in the collection's title story? The answers are a work in progress. There is much more to marriage past the wedding day and there is much more to life than any given day, and the pursuit for happiness goes on everyday. That is the story of our lives. It would be an injustice to attempt to neatly surmise an ending to the lives of the characters in these stories, because as Mrs. Sen would say, "Everyone, this people, too much in their world."
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Summary: "Interperter of Maladies" a taste of culture.
Review: Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" is a taste her own Indian culture. Though Jhumpa was born in London in 1967 and raised in Rhode Island. Both parents' are Indian, her father a librarian and her mother a teacher. She traveled often to India to visit relatives. It makes you wonder where she would get the ideas for her short stories. The nine tales that are written describe the cultures of India, and also that of America. Each story is filled with the up's and down's of everyday life. The one exception is that it tells of Indian immigrants and their struggles not only with their individuality, but also with life itself. With each page that is turned, there is grief, pain, joy and laughter. We find ourselves wrapped up in each individual's life. Lahiri has shown through her writing that she has a strong sense of her roots. She describes what it is like to try and replace a traditional way of life, with that of a different one. These stories are about sorrow and loss. For example "A Temporary Matter." Here is a story of a couple trying to deal with the loss of an unborn child. Within their sorrow, separation, denial, and guilt, they try to reach out to each other. In "Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine." Here is a man who comes to a family's home, who practices a totally different culture. There is uniqueness between Mr. Pirzada and this family, yet they have one major thing in common, they are from India. They are more alike than they are different. The most intriguing story in "Interpreter of Maladies" is "A Real Durwan." Here is a story of a homeless woman who has the responsibility to watch the gate, and for that she is allowed to sleep under the mailboxes. She isolated, and lonely, yet she feels responsible for the other people. When a sink is stolen from the hotel, the others blame her; they needed her as a scapegoat, and an excuse. It is only because she is different, that she becomes the sacrifice. For that she is cast back to the streets, with nothing. This story is touching, and also true to life here in America. Though Jhumpa Lahiri tells the plights of Indian culture, there are similarities here in America. The only difference is the skin color. The stories were strong and yet sensitive. It touched every aspect of life. We go from feeling sorry for Mrs. Sen, a lonely woman with such a burden of taking care of a little boy, and Shukumar and Shoba who mourning the loss of a child; to finding ourselves relieved when Mr. Pirzada family was okay. The book was like a roller coaster ride of emotions. An interpreter of Maladies was an enjoyable book. Anyone who can put such passion in words deserves the Pulitzer Prize. Two thumbs up for "Interpreter of Maladies," a book well written and understandable. It is a book worth passing on to another.
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