Rating: 
Summary: Simply Beautiful
Review: Interpreter of Maladies is an exquisite collection of stories offering brief glimpses into the lives of Indian protagonists--natives, immigrants, and first generation Americans. It is hard to say what my favorite story was--either the delicate marriage gone awry in "A Temporary Matter" or the ironic tale of Mr. Kapasi in the title story, "Interpreter of Maladies." Lahiri brings to life so many emotions and so much history. "When Mr. Prizada came to Dine" portrays her ability to weave desparation, displacement, and the importance of family into just a few pages--all told from a child's point of view. Lahiri is an extremely talented--her writing isn't loaded with confusing metaphors and symbols--it's pure and beautiful, and, I must add, it's a breath of fresh air. Her unique strength is her ability to say so much by narrating just a small segment of life. Unlike a few other Pulitzer fiction winners of late, Lahiri deserved the honor--and more.
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping, insightful, and full of observation
Review: Jhumpa Lahiri seems to be one of those writers who observes and tells and lets the reader be the judge. Its hard to find writers who 'tell a story', without interlacing it with their own judgements and getting painfully pedantic. The short stories in this book are, in my opinion, beautiful. You don't jump start to an exciting beginning, you don't crash land toward a climactic ending - rather, you appreciate and savor every bit of the story and usually at the end of each you are left thinking -sometimes with a smile and sometimes with an ache in the heart. Very nice...
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Assesment of the New Immigrant Experience
Review: As American immigration diversifies, more and more people are arriving from non-Western nations. This situation has provided a fertile context for many first generations writers. Jhumpa Lahiri's collection of short stories evidences that this trend is enriching American literature. Her stories deal with themes ubiquitous to all immigrants and their children; the clash of cultures, the conflicts of assimilation, and the relationships between the generation that came from the old country and the ones raised in the new country. And while the central characters originate from the Indian subcontinent, the conflicts they struggle to resolve transcend any specific ethnicity while, at the same time, providing a greater understanding of the culture(s) of America's burgeoning Indian community.
Rating:
Summary: Collection of bittersweet short stories
Review: This Pulitzer prize-winning book is a collection of nine short stories (3 of which have been previously published) that explore the lives of some Bengalis who live in the United States (mostly New England) and some who live in India. The book's title would lead you to correctly believe that most of the stories are melancholy in tone. Even though writer Jhumpa Lahiri covers Indian characters, this is not an "Indian" book. The struggles and emotions that her characters face are universal to everyone and here lies the book's great power. For example, in the first story alone, the central couple had faced a tragedy in their lives. While she is describing their torment, you don't think of them as Indian people. The characters' circumstances may be different, but their motivations are not. Lahiri's simple, yet substantive style (much like Truman Capote) immediately draws you in. It's as if she invited you over for afternoon tea on a rainy day and then proceeded to tell you several stories about people she knew over the years. I can't wait to hear the next set of stories.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing short stories
Review: Short stories are not my favorite, so I don't read many of them. This was my book club's selection for last month and I have to admit I was exceedingly skeptical. I am also happy to report, this debut author undeniably surprised me. These stories, without fail, are intensely moving. Each one gives a glimpse of a different foible. My favorite was the first story in the book "A Temporary Matter". This is a story of a married couple that at first glace seems to have drifted apart, but on closer inspection, have been wrenched apart. Can they come back together if they face their past? "When Mr.Pirzada Came to Dine" made me wonder what children from different backgrounds face in American public schools. I suspect it is not at all pleasant since the things stressed in their homes are completely ignored in our schools. The other stories are equally compelling and thought provoking. If I could find more short stories like these, I would probably read more of them.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful and engaging book!
Review: Jhumpa is a master at description without loosing the reader in the details. I felt completely drawn in to each story. They were each so good, I was sad to see the end.
Rating:
Summary: Very nicely done
Review: I would have given this book 5 stars, but I have to agree with another reviewer--there is a "New Yorker" style of fiction that has now become its own genre. If you read too many of them in a row, you feel like blowing up a Pottery Barn warehouse. To her credit, Lahiri writes very well--very evocative, sophisticated and lyrical. And she doesn't write about Indian American yuppies or their upper-middle class sensibilities...at least, not all the time. She also writes about a poverty-stricken woman in India, and the subtle clash of culture, class and identity for immigrants and transnational characters. She is an effective storyteller and I found the stories very nice. There is a sense of trauma and mourning in most of the stories, a loss that has to be negotiated. I think she conveys this very well, even beautifully. Also, as my Asian Indian friend once complained to me, she avoids the cliche of other Indian/Asian American writing that focuses on "spices" as a metaphor for asimilation/acculturation. ha!
Rating:
Summary: Fine
Review: I liked this book very much and..., yeah, very much. Stories are very "cosy" ,if I can say that, and nice. That it's my first feeling about them and I suppose it's the most important thing. The second feeling was about Jumpha's talent - talent to discribe things and people in a way nobody else does. In a way witch is so simple and straightforward that you start thinking about why other wrtiters does not do it in such a way. The last feeling was not so positive. After reading a few other books about imigrants and thay problems I found this book not so complete as it could be. But should a set of short stories be complete?
Rating:
Summary: A well-deserved Pulitzer
Review: It's hard to believe that "Interpreter of Maladies" is a first book, it is so beautifully and subtly written. Lahiri reveals the deepest feelings, emotions and motivations of her characters seemingly effortlessly; with a few simple startling details she suddenly reveals all. I loved "Mrs. Sen" for example. An American boy goes to the house of an Indian woman every day after school until his mother returns from work. Nothing seems very remarkable until one day Mrs. Sen looks up and asks if "I began to scream right now at the top of my lungs would someone come?" Suddenly we realize the despair and loneliness of a woman far from home, struggling to adapt, who longs for nothing more than a fresh fish to cook. And immediately after this outburst the young boy thinks of his own home, and Labor Day, and a party he and his mother did not attend. In a few quick sentences we realize that Mrs. Sen and Elliot's mother share similar fates, are equally isolated and alone. But in this sad story neither is redeemed. Even more sad, in a very different way, is "A Real Durwan," the story of an irritable old woman in Calcutta who nevertheless becomes part of a community by her helpfulness, until a scapegoat is needed and she is expelled. How cruel human beings can be to the weak! I also liked "This Blessed House", a wonderful story about the bewilderment of a man who has entered into an arranged marriage and starts discovering the woman who is his wife--we read a lot about such marriages from the woman's point of view, but what about the man's? It is only through the eyes of friends at a party that he sees his wife as she is and love begins to grow. There's nothing dramatic about the plots here, no twists and turns and surprises. Just wonderful writing and powerful glimpses into the heart.
Rating:
Summary: a critique of interpreter of maladies
Review: Rarely can one find a work of literature that contains a number of separate and independent stories that are able to boldly stand on their own but, when pieced together, represent common themes and subjects. Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of nine fictional stories which combine various conflicts and resolutions allowing Lahiri to beautifully weave in common elements regarding family dynamics, the role of women and children within the family, secrets kept within such a system and the importance of India as the stronghold of life in America. Specific time periods are not always given but none of the stories really calls for a year in which to take place, as each is easily applicable to any reader at any time.
Lahiri's work contains nine stories, none of which rely on its neighboring story but all of which are supported and more definitely defined by the other. The short stories include: "A Temporary Matter," about a married couple who come to share secrets and discuss the loss of their baby during a neighborhood "lights-out" that occurs each night for approximately one week; "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine," a story about a young girl who learns the meaning of war, prayer and family through the trials of a friend; "Interpreter of Maladies," concerning the secret a woman keeps from her family, the definition of love and the interpreter's role on the subject; "A Real Durwan," one of the more melancholy of the works, about society's interpretation of a real durwan and the woman who represents that which is and is not a durwan; "Sexy," regarding the subject of infidelity and the true definition of the word "sexy"; "Mrs. Sen's," about a woman and young boy who gain their independence because of the other; "This Blessed House," a story about a husband and wife who find surprises in their new house and in each other; "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar," an ill woman's story about how others try to heal her and how she eventually heals herself; and "The Third and Final Continent" regarding the various processes by which individuals become a part of one another's families and the love that ensues. In the end, when contemplating the interwoven stories, one primary subject in all becomes quite clear. There is a simultaneous connection and disconnection to India in relation to the characters that live in various American cities. In analyzing the book, the element of the separation from India holds an entire summation in itself.
In regard to each individual story, one is drawn to keep reading, driven by the desire to see how every tension is replaced with the finality of relief. Each character is made to heal and gain a sense of self in a particular and unique way. By sprinkling each work with secrets and potential conflicts, Lahiri holds interest and causes the reader to desire each individual conclusion.
Each story, too, more fully defines what makes a family and the connection of love within it. "In truth," Lahiri writes, "Sanjeev did not know what love was, only what he thought it was not" (147), reinforcing the reader's unsure feelings through her characters. Every diverse family unit within the works either directly or indirectly faces the one question of what love is and how it relates to their unique circumstances.
Jhumpa Lahiri has done an exquisite job of connecting nine concentrated short stories and making them easily digestible by the reader. The primary morals in Interpreter of Maladies smoothly flow through one another with the ultimate effect of reinforcing certain, true ideas upon the reader. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri is a contemporary piece of literature that deals with issues sure to be present until the end of time.
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