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Summary: Indian culture meets American culture
Review: "Interpreter of Maladies" is Jhumpa Lahiri's first book. She is a young ethnic Bengali writer, born in London, raised in Long Island and living in New York. Her book "Interpreter of Maladies" contains a collection of nine stories, all a wonderful blend everything - from failed marriages, love and affairs, a struggling single mom, to the tragedy of having a stillborn baby. Every story with the touch of Indian customs and traditions. One of my favorite stories is the closing story 'The third and final continent' where we meet the 36 year old Indian man who follows the tradition of arranged marriage. He married a woman chosen by his older brother, and then left her after a week to go to Boston. She was to stay back for 6 weeks and then reunite with her husband in US. This a story about his quest, his struggle in a new world, and of course' how him and his wife stopped being strangers, how their life came about in this huge, strange country (US). This story ends like this: -- 'While the astronauts, heroes forever, spent mere hours on the moon, I have remained in this new world for nearly thirty years. I know that my achievement is quite ordinary. I am not the only man to seek his fortune far from home. And certainly I am not the first. Still there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.' -- Compelling! This is probably the strongest and most beautiful ending I have ever encountered in any story! Another notable standout is "This blessed house" - the story about the young couple, Twinkle and Sanjeev, recently married after a very short courtship. After moving in to their new home, they discovers almost daily crucifixes, cards and other Christian objects/symbols that the previous owners left. These finding are made to Twinkle's great pleasure, and to Sanjeev's increasing frustration. Needless to say this takes its' toll on their relationship... Very funny! Lahiri's excellent prose and the beautiful stories make this into an immensely readable collection, even though it is an all too quick read. I can't wait until her next work is being published. Highly deserving of the Pulitzer Prize.
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Summary: INTERPRETER OF MALADIES by JHUMPA LAHIRI
Review: This novel is a very interesting piece and it reflects Indians in a variety of ways in their country or in other continents migrating for different reasons either by birth or by heritage. The authors use of short stories invites us into the inner experiences of her characters and goes in depth about the way of life of some Indian descent both in India and from one continent to another. The novel doesnt specifically focus on a particular character but on various Indians and thier situations capturing moments of their day to day lives, customs, reasons for migrating, expatriation, values and many more. Her switching from one short story to another lets us imagine other lives in different situations, giving each story something special to remember. Some of her stories are set in 1960.
Her background comes to show us why she uses migration to come to play in her stories and why she focuses on India. Jhumpari Lahiri was born in 1967 in London, England to Indian parents and raised in Rhode Island but visited India several times. In her book, she has a collection of nine stories which she draws on this immigrant experience to create worlds where characters of Indian descent live both in the U.S. and back in India, travelling back and forth.
Some of the stories are set in the 1960s where the U.S. and countries like Pakistan had political turmoils and was. She tends to put in our minds things about her culture ranging from way of lfe, marriage, beliefs, and many more capturing different moments in different stories.
The title story was set in India and it was about an Indian who gave tour guides and he engages with an unhappy housewife who has been trapped with a secret for so long and then feels a sign of relief being able to finally share it him, learning about his other job, being a translator for a doctor for people with ailments.He finds himself involed with the intimate details of other lives as he serves as an interpreter of maladies.
In "A Temporary Matter", a married couple on the brink of divorce due to the loss of a baby rediscover their lost love, thanks to a nightly power outage in their area. The temporary matter refers more to their marriage than to the power outage because helps in reuniting their long forgotten closeness and make them recapture secrets the had kept from eachother. This was a good story because it showed the way a mishap can destroy a relationship and how a little situation can rekindle it.
In "Where Mr Pirzada came to Dine," she goes into a more suspense context and she moves into the life of an Indian under emotional pressure because of the situation in his country. It describes what happens when an immigrant couple invites a visiting Pakistani to dine with them each night and watch television broadcasts on what was going on in the war at Pakistan because his beloved wife and family where there which he had not heard from. The story is told by the couples 10 yr old daughter who is drawn into the sentiment of the moment wishing his family well and praying silently for him and his family reuniting.
In "Sexy," she moves into a more intimate context. A young woman has an affair with a married man she meets at a dept store perfume counter. she shows the reader how their relationship was perfect till the feeling of guilt broke it up because of the effect of how a broken marriage affected her coworkers cousin and made her think twice about the whole affair.
In "Mrs sens," she shows us a young boys analysis of an indian couple using qualities the couple portrayed for example their uncloseness, comparing them to what he was normaly used to.
There are also stories of sadness, grief suffering and loss which made me feel sad."The treatment of Bibi Habler" and "A real Durwan" possesed such qualities.They had this sad feeling to it, i feel she was trying to let us know of the suffering and of how backward some places still are.
I really enjoyed the stories in the book although i did not want any of the stories to end. Another thing which was good was the fact that all the stories had something to it and something to learn about which made the book special.The book also tends to broaden your mind about other cultures, their beliefs and many more.
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Summary: Sad but True
Review: Most of Ms. Lahiri's stories in this anthology are of a sad nature. however, this is true life. life is not always happy. Interpreter of Maladies presents stories that will touch you, for altohugh almost all of the characters are indian, every story must relate to someone's life. lahiri has found a way to transcend race, heritage, and ethnicity and relate these stories to any reader. a fantastic read for anyone who wants something a little bit different, but a little bit familiar.
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Summary: Heart-warming, Revealing, Cultural Short Stories
Review: There are eight heart-warming, revealing, personal human interest stories in this small volume which make it quite clear why Ms Jhumpa Lahiri received the Pulitzer Prize in literature. Her stories are vivid and colorful descriptions of human experiences and life situations. Some are light-hearted and humorous, others serious, some are everyday occurrences; all leave a deep impression on the reader who is a little wiser, kinder and more compassionate after having read them. The reader will long remember the nights that the electricity went out in a neighborhood where Shoba (female) and Shukumar (male) lived. They became emotionally distant after the still born birth of their baby. On the first night, Shukumar prepared a traditional Indian dinner which the couple had not eaten for a long time, not since they grew apart due to the impact of this personal tragedy. Shoba started a little game, of revealing something to her husband that she said he never knew about her. He was expected to reciprocate. Shukumar began to have more intense feelings of love toward his wife after these revelations began. In fact, even after the electricity was fixed ... they continued their "candle light suppers" and "secret revelations". Shukumar was in for a big surprise one night when Shoba laid before him, one of her 'secret revelations'. Read the story to find out what he discovered ... In another story, we are introduced to Mr. Pirzada, originally from a region of India, which later was partitioned to become Pakistan. He routinely visited an Indian family for dinner and to watch TV, particularly the news, to learn of developments in his homeland. He was a research botanist at a local university and lived in sparse surroundings. He left his wife and seven daughters in the region of India which broke out in war and afterwards became Pakistan. He won a research grant at a prestigious University in his specialty. During his visits to this family, he brought treats and candies for the little girl. The little girl was raised in the USA and primarily learned only US history. Much later, she discovered the reasons Mr. Pirzada visited and his strong affection for the little girl. She hoarded her treats in a secret box, and carefully doled them out to herself to make them last. The war had ended and Mr. Pirzada's research was competed. He returned to Pakistan and sent the Indian family a letter, explaining that all was well, his wife and daughters survived the war. Life was being built anew. It was only then the little girl realized the importance of these visits to Mr. Pirzada and to herself as well. Watching the news, learning about developments on the otherside of the globe reminded him of his wife and family. Providing the little girl treats had somehow connected him closer to his own little girls. There are other equally enchanting stories in this book which leave the reader filled with a warm glow. All the stories in the book reveal significant details about people's lives with sensitivity and compassion. Each is a slices of human life, which unravels deep emotions that are delicate threads which connect the person or people to their culture and to humanity as a whole. This is an excellent book and receives my highest recommendations. Erika Borsos (erikab93)
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Summary: Not quite an A+
Review: "Interpreter of Maladies" was very good, but not as earth-shatteringly excellent as I had expected it to be. On the surface, it looked like a book that I would love. After all, it's a collection of short stories and I ordinarily really love reading short stories. Also, I have developed quite an Indian fiction fetish in the past couple years and this book seemed to fit right in that. On top of all that it won the Pulitzer prize and received extremely favorable reviews from quite a few sources that I really trust. What with all of that, I expected to find myself raving about the book. Of course, this is probably all just meant to be a lesson to me about the dangers of high expectations and setting myself up to be disappointed... I don't want to make it sound like the book was bad, since it certainly wasn't. Jhumpa Lahiri is a very competent, good writer, and Interpreter of Maladies is an extremely impressive debut. The first story in the book, "A Temporary Matter" is an absolute work of genius, gorgeous and heartbreaking. Unfortunately, the other stories don't quite deliver the same emotional impact as that one, but they are all interesting and her prose is beautiful. Every once in a while her characters seem to cross the line into caricature, but for the most part she has a good feel for people and also writes believable dialogue. Nonetheless, the stories (with the exception of the first one) fail to make the leap from good to great. I think the reason for that is that Lahiri chickens out a little bit. She doesn't take the kind of creative risks that you need to be willing to take in order to write something truly great. While I was reading most of the stories in this book, I didn't get the feeling that she was really laying herself on the line to create something that stood out from the ordinary. Most of the stories seemed like the work of someone who has done an extremely good job of closely and carefully following a recipe--the meal is delicious, but it's not the work of a master chef. Lahiri's stories are like that; they're very well-crafted and lovely, but lack a certain spark of originality. Even so, that first story is good enough to indicate that she's worth watching.
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Summary: Captivating short-stories
Review: Usually novels full of short-stories do not catch my attention, but seeing as this book won the Pulitzer Prize, I gave it a try. I was thorougly surprised! The stories had so much depth, emotion, and symbolism strewed about. Ranging from immigrants from South Asia, to young women in South Asia, the novel was full of strong characters. I found I could sympathize with the story of a young girl who became acquainted with a Bengali man whose family was still in Bangladesh (back when it was still part of Pakistan) the most. That story, "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine," was definitely my favorite. One thing that I didn't like was how every story ended in a sad and unsure note. Some stories were utterly depressing and left a reader confused. Even with that flaw, Lahiri was able to convey South Asian culture in an amazing manner. So though it was a bit unrealistic with the melancholy mood lingering everywhere (South Asian culture isn't all that gloomy!), the novel presented excellent ideas and themes.
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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, WILL@epicqwest.com by Tom Grimes
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Summary: Like a song you hum long after hearing it...
Review: Though written from an immigrant viewpoint, Jhumpa Lahiri tells stories that stir feelings and stay with you long after you have read them. Little details and beautiful expressions of Indian habits and attitudes depict truly a picture u can visualize immediately. Enjoyable especially to immigrant Indians but also to anyone who has a taste for sensitive writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not great
Review: This collection of stories does a fabulous job in describing and explaining many aspects of the Indian culture and how they are affected by living abroad. In that sense, it is a great accomplishment and learning experience. However, after I read many of the stories, particularly the most promising ones, I kept wishing for more-- more detail, more depth of emotion, more impact. She is the kind of writer who is capable of brilliant work but for some reason does not let herself commit deeper to the intensity of a story. Not enough risk taking, which yields a sometimes-bland collection.
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Summary: Great short stories
Review: I think Jhumpa Lahiri is a great short stores writer. She isn't situated to write novels, but she does a good job on short stories. Interpreter of Maladies is a good collection of stories, the author did a good job of describing situations. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a fast paced book or is interested in reading a collection of different stories.
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