Interpreter of Maladies

Rating:
Summary: Compelling stories
Review: A collection of 9 stories that highlight relationships and identity, written with imagination and poetic ease. My favorites? "A Temporary Matter", in which an Indian couple, struggling after a miscarriage, finds solace during a week of nightly blackouts, "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine" about a young Indian girl living in America who learns about the Pakistan civil war through the visits of a worried house guest, and "The Third and Final Continent", a story about an immigrant who finds common ground with a 103 year old American woman through manners, politeness, and civility long abandoned in 1960's America. Many of the stories touch upon the subject of Indians interacting with westerners, but not all of them. I don't usually read short story collections, but this one is exceptional and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books
Review: What an incredible collection! A friend told me that after reading these stories he felt as though he'd been "punched in the stomach," because they had touched him so deeply. Jumpha Lahiri does an incredible job in capturing the "essence" of the people in her stories, and in showing their dreams, wishes, frustrations and worries. From the story of a young woman in a relationship with an older man to the couple having problems in their marriage, each story rings true to the challenges and difficulties we face in our own lives. Jumpha Lahiri has a remarkable grasp for getting to the heart of a situation, and you are sometimes left breathless by how much the stories resonate.


Rating:
Summary: Where's the good stuff?
Review: Jhumpa's Lahiri's writing is excellent and her descriptions of feeling homesick or out-of-place ring true. What rubs off on her characters (despite the fact that they are supposed to be intellectuals) as a result of the American experience seems to consist solely of American materialism and shallowness. Mind you, as far as I can tell, the characters were materialistic and shallow to begin with -- in fact, those still in India are even more selfish, boring and immoral than the characters in the United States.

Rating:
Summary: Indian heritage, universal themes - first rate writing
Review: Jhumpa Lahiri's writing grabbed my attention on the first page of the first story of this outstanding collection of short stories, the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1999. Her writing transcends culture and background, instead addressing universal themes of fidelity, estrangement, cultural adjustment, marriage, jealousy, misogyny, amidst the ordinary and extraordinary lives of Indian couples and families, many having moved to America, others rooted in India.

Lahiri has the gift of creating believable and three dimensional characters, going beyond mere caricatures. Her genius is in making you feel great empathy for characters you have just encountered a few pages earlier, be they young married couples adjusting to the demands of their new spouse, often unknown through an arranged marriage, or those in their middle age, dealing with their yearnings for love or idealizing a stranger, as the character in the title story does.

This is a truly first class collection of stories, each one different to the other; I would wholly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be moved by fine writing.

Rating:
Summary: Make it a Must-Read
Review:
Jhumpa Lahiri, whose book I stumbled upon by chance, and bought with some doubt in my mind (I have found many short-stories to be quite boring, or lacking in some other way), even if it was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize 2000, as indicated on the cover, is a showcase for the power of the short story. The individual narratives are quite varied, but share in common three elements that make Lahiri's collection a treasure to behold: They all centre around the lives of Indians, whether living in India itself, or abroad. They all share the same subtlety, realism and attention to detail, with a tinge of the enchanted. The language of the narratives is wonderfully crafted, and varies to suit the tone of each. If I were to write any more about this collection, I would be revealing little details that I would readers would discover for themselves. Let me just say this: Even if like myself you are prejudiced towards short-stories, and prefer to read through heavy doorstoppers, this collection will enchant you. It features some of the best writing I have seen published for a long time, and each individual story holds enough truth, character description and detail, to form the basis of a film. I would thus thoroughly recommend this collection of intelligent, wonderfully written stories to anybody who likes to open a book and forget about his or her surroundings, even if only for a few hours. Other Amazon quick-pick suggestions: THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez, [e-mail] by Tom Grimes


Rating:
Summary: A mixed bag of Indian immigrant experience
Review: A nice collection of short stories documenting the experiences of Indian immigrants. I found the stories a mixed bag. My favorite was A Temporary Matter, probing a troubled couples' ability to be honest with one another and the value and destructive potential of total honesty. The title story, Interpreter of Maladies, talks about the responsibility of the interpreter (similar to that of the author) to accurately convey experiences to those who do not understand. Mrs. Sen's shows what comes of independence in trying to adjust to a new culture and The Third and Final Continent made me think of the points in life when you can look back and realize how truly full your life has been. Other than those, I unfortunately found the other stories overly bogged down in details until they became fairly forgettable.