Rating: 
Summary: Story telling at its best...
Review: I loved reading Jhumpa Lahiri's 'Interpreter of Maladies'.Being an Indian myself, I'm tired of reading books that package India's 'exoticism' to the West. Jhumpa Lahiri's stories do not revolve around the "Indianness" of the characters.India is always in the background, but the characters and their emotions are simply human. In the 'Interpreter of Maladies', Ms. Lahiri's breathtakingly beautiful, yet simple style of storytelling tells you a story about people who just happen to be Indian.The narrative she employs is very humane, with a lot of attention to detail. The stories are strong and delicate at the same time. I particularly enjoyed the title story 'Interpreter of Maladies' and the last story 'The Third and Final continent'. Another aspect of her writing I particularly liked is that she doesn't drown the story in style. The narrative occupies centerstage and the story telling is natural, not contrived. Looking forward to her next book Mekhala Vasthare
Rating: 
Summary: Pulitzer Material?
Review: While I admit I am a short story novice, preferring novels, I have to say that I was very disappointed with Ms. Lahiri's freshman effort. The book wasn't bad, but i never felt the passion for the characters that I expected (save Mrs. Sen), and found the writing a bit simple. But a quick, decent read- and I expect great things to come from Lahiri.
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Summary: Outstanding Short Stories
Review: I am so pleased with this book. Its in line of work of Amy Tan... Pretty much breath taking, you cannot leave it untill you reach the end.
Rating:
Summary: Lahiri's stories are short and brilliant jewels
Review: A freshing voice from a new generation of women writers, Lahiri has keen focus for fantastic short story telling. Her study on the roles of Indian men and women in cultural transition is insightful and well executed. I am looking forward to reading more of Lahiri's mind.
Rating: 
Summary: It won't manhandle your heart,
Review: in the manner of Roy's "God of Small Things", but Lahiri's "Interpreter" will gently prod it, pull at it's strings, touch it with an artist's touch, light and lasting. It will help to know something of Indian culture and social structure, in order to appreciate the subtle nuances of her stories, but even without such a background, one can appreciate them for their **humanness**. The reason, I believe, behind her award of the Pulitzer. If you're looking for fantastical plots, and wordy contextualism, you'll be disappointed. If however, you revel in intelligent, expressive prose, gently woven into rich tales of the hopes, fears, desires, and ambivalences that connect us all, regardless of cultural origins, you'll be quite pleased.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely incredible
Review: This is truly a book that delivers on the promises of the wonderful reviews it has gotten. It is so rich, so powerful, there were even moments when it just left me reeling from the trip I had taken with the characters. Her prose is so elegant and unforced, and her attention to detail absolutely superb. You will not regret reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Interpreter of Maladies
Review: A brilliant collection of stories that makes you introspect. Each of the stories reflect the keen observant eyes the author has. It is definitely a must buy.
Rating:
Summary: A Beauty
Review: I was shocked by how much I liked this collection. I was annoyed when I had to put it down and dismayed when I was finished. After I read it, I started passing it around to friends. Many of Ms. Lahiri's characters don't realize quite how important or emotionally laden the small events in their lives are until the last, searing moment. Her short stories work the same way - what seem to be pleasant descriptions of simple lives and mundane daily traumas suddenly implode into stories that, as I like to say, become wallpaper for the rooms in your brain. The shaking little boy who defines "sexy" to his adulterous babysitter is a classic. I was as stunned and upset by some of the expected deaths and cliched revelations of human frailty as the characters were. I consider myself something of a cynic, but this book reminds you - in a subtle way -- that small things between people matter and that even the expected in life can pack a powerful punch, one that can send even the smartest and the most experienced reeling for a bit. (I consider myself smart and experienced, and I reeled.) The stories also have a real sensuality. After reading I found myself craving for days the various foods that the narrators all linger over, even those same foods I eat every day. The scents, colors, and fabrics of the stories stay with you as much as the characters, as do the physical spaces they inhabit. In a sense I'm reiterating what others have said about the book - its "exotic" qualities and well-delivered punches that seem to be part of a new "workshop fiction" trend. This is true. But I disagree that this collection is not vital or original as such. It seems solidly both to me.
Rating:
Summary: A lovely book
Review: For Interpreter of Maladies, the glowing reviews and top awards are richly deserved. This is a lovely book, exquisitely rendered in character and detail. It is rich and nuanced in what it has to say about the immigrant experience and the American experience, as well as the precarious devices we employ to fit in within our own particular worlds. From the lilt of the dialogue to the perfectly chosen scenes and words, Ms. Lahiri's voice rings true.
Rating:
Summary: Wow.
Review: Incredible, tasty, drives my senses wild. It's as if I was reading a story about MY life, as though she watched a tale or two unfold through a keyhole in my door. An amazing book.
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