Rating: 
Summary: Insubstantial and safe
Review: There are no challenges here. The book does not breathe. I feel that I have found a truly great written work when, as I read the work, I can feel the pulse of the author and the creation in my fingers and palms when I hold the book. That this collection of mild, uninspired stories won the Pulitzer Prize says something about me, I am sure, but even more about the Pulitzer Committee and the state of fiction at this time. Even the tragedies uncovered by the author in this case are neatly tied down, like the carcasses of cattle after being slaughtered. The language is timid, delicate, lace-like, instead of calm, clear, and solid. The pages seem to fear being touched and possibly soiled. The tone of the book, in my opinion, is that of a song played on one piano in one octave with no variation in tempo. Basically, the book bored me, though I know the stories were worth telling. I would only recommend this book to the calm, centered, directed beings who, like the readers who have been giving this work very high marks, and the Pulitzer. However, if you like to be challenged, if you like words to vibrate off the page with emotion and ideas and hopes and dreams and failures, then I would not waste my time reading these stories.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 Stars For Character Development but stories a mixed bag
Review: If you have an appreciation of well written characters, its hard to go past Lahiri's collections of short stories. This lady understands people, and brings then to life with style and skill. My only criticism is that a number of the stories were a little flat, despite the great character development. Some in the middle of the collection especially left me with a feeling of "so what?". But the collection its worth a read, because when her stories do hit a home run, they are simply wonderful. The first story represents everything that is great about writing, in my humble opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful vision
Review: Each of Lahiri's stories are sincere, graceful and smart. Her characters are flawed in interesting and careful ways which allow the reader to embrace not only the persons but the struggles that present themselves to them. Her women are direct and intelligent, witty and clever. With her brilliant charaters who seem to sing their stories in your ear, Lahiri has bridged many gaps - gender, race, religion...bravo.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book I have ever read
Review: I am no good reader. Actually this is the first book that I ever completed reading, with great interest. These stories are so simple, real to life and bringing forth all those small and subtle feelings that I guess everyone gets but are so hard to understand or inform to anyone when you want to. Just Awesome!
Rating:
Summary: The thread that binds all of us... love
Review: Oh, I disagree with those who believe this young author did not deserve the Pulitzer for this collection. Each story is perfectly packaged, so clean, so neat, there are no strings left. The reader will finish each story without the feeling that something has been left unsaid, or unexplained. These tales are full of Indians who either in the States or in India are living lives that touch others in an unusual or special way. Each of Lahiri's protagonists is learning to live a life they may not have expected nor wanted - but each works to their best ability to live that life - honorably and tranquilly. Lahiri has deftly managed to take some of the most common experiences in life (the loss of a child, the separation of family members, an adulterous affair, an aging parent, etc) and subtly demonstrate that the thread that strings them all together is the search for, need for, and healing powers of, love. The fact that her protagonists are of a non-WASP (American) culture makes these works only that much more powerful because the secondary message is not only an education for the American reader about how people of another culture 'think' - but to note how much alike human beings are in their capacity to love and care for others. This was a marvelous collection and I encourage everyone to absorb these eminently readable tales.
Rating:
Summary: Writing what you know
Review: I resent people who try to put literture that is written by "ethnic" writer into a genre of "ethnic" writing. Writer usually write about what they know, what is familliar to them. Which is not ethnic, it's just how things are. Placing this book in the "ethnic" genre draws attention away from the unique way that Lahiri deals with complexities of human interaction. For example the "A Temporary Matter," is compelling because of the unexpressed sorrow that lingers between Shoba and Shukumar. The succes of the prose lies less in the descriptions of the "Indian" elements, but in their relationship, their inability to communicate to each other. There names could be replaced with western ones, their plight is one that is not so unique. These set of stories seem to imply that there is a fundametality to humanity that is not bound by ethnic lines. That things that happen to you happen to others, that saddness, dispair are things that are universal. Lahiri's book eloquently present this, presents the relationship of people to each other. Placing it in a a genre other than "good" fiction is definately an injustice.
Rating:
Summary: A joy to read. I never wanted to put the book down.
Review: She has a way to draw you into the characters from all the stories. She is a terrific storyteller... I can't wait for her next book.
Rating: 
Summary: So young, and yet so sensitive and talented.
Review: I was astonished that a woman as young as Ms. Lahiri was able to write so eloquently and sensitively about people of such different ages and experiences. I see some readers question whether this book should have won the Pulitzer prize. I have no comment on that. I chose to read it not because of the prize but because there has been some interesting writing coming out of India lately and becasue as an American I am always intrigued by the clash and interaction of cultures. I may not have enjoyed all the stories equally, but three of them - The Third and Final Continent, Mrs. Sens, and Mr Pirzada Comes to Dinner - moved me deeply, to tears.
Rating:
Summary: Interpreter of Melodies
Review: I never knew that a chopping blade could be described in such lively detail. I never imagined that the activity of slicing fish deserved such eloquent attention. I had never seen a reed broom in such vivid light before. An earthy melody flows through all the stories and Lahiri does an impeccable job of interpretation--of melodies. Her language is simple and never draws undue attention to itself--a skill that many writers take years to achieve and some never do. Ordinary chracters become extraordinary human beings when seen through the author's eyes. Being an Indian and a Bengali myself, the stories probably struck some chords very close to my heart, but there's no reason why anybody else should find it difficult to relish the tunes that underlie each story. I have a small complaint. A couple of names could've sounded more authentic if spelled differently. Shoba could've been Shobha (A Temporary Matter). Mukhesh (the renowned singer) should definitely have been Mukesh (The Third and Final Continent).
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking Stories
Review: Jhumpa Lahiri has given us a breathtakingly beautiful collection of stories that certainly deserves the Pulitzer Prize. She writes like a dream and brings you into the worlds of her stories so effectively. She certainly is a writer of enormous talent and I only hope she gives us more work soon. All the stories in this collection concern the culture clash between America and India. Clash is perhaps too strong a word. It is more like the two worlds are bumping into one another, trying to make some sense of the other. As with any collection, some stories are stronger than others (although none are weak). The first and last were my favorites. The first--A Temporary Matter--deals with a young couple coping with the stillbirth of their first child and the disintegration of their marriage during a week of hour long blackouts. The last--The Third and Final Continent--is told by an Indian man of his first days in Boston, before and after he brought his new bride to the country. All of these stories are beautifully rendered. I highly recommend this collection.
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