Rating: 
Summary: A rounded cast of characters that really rings true
Review: Having just finished Interpreter of Maladies, and being someone who also "has read a lot," from Bharati Mukherjee to Ernest Hemingway, I have to wonder how anyone could lambast this book in the way some reviewers have done. Perhaps this isn't fair, but I have to wonder if they read it correctly. Short fiction as a genre is distinct from the novel form, and it doesn't allow for intricate plot development. That is what makes it such a difficult form in which to write, and I believe Jhumpa Lahiri has done a masterful job at it! True, her elaborate use of detail may not be to the liking of all readers, and may detract emphasis from what I think is skillful story development. But overall, I believe she captures the truths behind a variety of Indian-American "types," types that I know to be quite real, at least in my experience as a 2nd generation Bengali-American. From the story of a young man whose new bride leaves everything behind to join a stranger in America (for whom my parents could have served as models), to the tale of a more westernized young couple dealing with the "loss" of their child as well as their love, there is a distinct flavor of authenticity, not cliche, running through most of these stories. If you read her work expecting to peer in from the outside upon the literary grace and style of Arundhati Roy, simply admiring it from afar, you will be disappointed, but due to no fault of the author. To appreciate this book, you must be willing to enter it, to try to truly connect with and understand the lives of these characters. It's your prerogative if you don't care to do so, but don't blame her work.
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Summary: A book that I finished despite suffering from ADD
Review: I liked this work. I would definitely recommend this book. I liked 'When Mr. Pirzada came to dine', 'Sexy', 'Mrs. Sen's', and 'The Third and final continent' the most. I didn't like 'Real durwan' at all as I couldn't see the point. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see Ms. Lahiri's knowledge of Bengal, Bengali culture, and little bitty Bengali things (e.g, refugees from East Bengal being nostalgic about their glorious past life before partition; making a hole in the middle of a pile of rice to put lentils; Bengalis' typical love of fresh fish etc.) It was a pleasure reading. It made me want to go home and see all my relatives I grew up amongst and who I left in Calcutta.
Rating: 
Summary: The stories read like refined sugar. Extremely tasty-candy?
Review: The stories are excellent, like Jordan Almonds. It is hard to criticize for they are perfect. No small achievemnt. JL has made way for other Indian writers if the want to stir plots and cook some books with Indian consciousness as the main ingredient. How does JL do it. In silence she seems to have opened doors and glimpsed what no one had bothered to notice. True greatness in a writer. The stories are perfect. No edges, angles or untied thoughts. It is like a finely made quilt, each story is. The right color, the right design. Wonderful reading on the whole. Congratulations JL!
Rating: 
Summary: AN UNEXPECTED DISSAPOINTMENT!
Review: Upon my return from a fabulous trip to India, and Bangladesh, I was in the mood from something from that side of the planet. I bought into the design of the cover, and the way it reminded me of some of the souvenirs that I brought back, then I started to read "sexy" while I stood and waited for my turn at the check-out counter! the title caught my eye but took me for ever to get interested in the story.. What a bore..too many irrelevant characters, ... with each story that I read with the greatest torture, I kept asking myself: "what's the point?", "Is this going somewhere?" "what???????" I am very dissapointed, infact so much that I don't think I'll try her again -.- And I certainly won't be recommending this one to anyone! Someone should have helped her polish up her stories, they are absolutely boring, and punchless! Thank goodness this is a combination of short stories, should this have been one story, I don't think I could have kept up with one quarter of it!! I know now to Never again Judge a book by its cover ever again!!!!! I can't imagine why anyone would even want to publish THAT! And No I am not a wannabe author, but I read a great deal, and this is the only non-5 star review that I have EVER written...
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed
Review: Ms. Lahiri is clearly someone whose future work will be a pleasure to read. Some of her stories are masterpieces - as good as the best of William Trevor. But some, particularly the ones based in India, display elements of superficiality. I particularly disliked the title story, and one about an old woman who looked after an apartment building.
Rating:
Summary: subtle, beautiful, and surprising
Review: If you like short stories and you don't have an axe to grind, you will likely love this book. If you are small-minded and your life centers around proving the validity of your cultural or ethnic resentments, you won't like the book. The book is neither hackneyed nor predictable, unfair comments notwithstanding. Believe the hype.
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Summary: Whatever has the New Yorker descended to?
Review: Lahri is fatiguing in her unoriginality and banality
Rating:
Summary: Great Read.....
Review: Consumer Perspective: Great read! I enjoyed killing time seeing through her eyes and those of her characters..... Critic's Perspective (there's one in all of us): You can get lost in the details. Stories ended up following a pattern. Most stories always had a little twist in the end which sometimes made them predictable. My perspective: Wicked stuff by a foxy author.
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Summary: Hackneyed!
Review: Boring and trite in terms of both ideas and language
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Summary: Just Loved This Book - Read it !!!!!
Review: This must be about the best book I've read by a South Asian author in a long time. Jhumpa's intelligent, senistive, and crafty literary style capture the nuances of being asian in america - without an overload of sentimentality. The stories are well observed, nuanced, and extremely well paced. Jhumpa has a way of looking at things that is extremely realistic and often cold and calculated - but also sensitive. The stories tend to move you along a tapestry of thought - that only the best writing in any language weaves. Overall a really stunning debut - I cant wait for her first novel. On the negative side though - the stories set in the USA - specifically around Boston - are far more moving than those set in India - which are much more literary in flavor. Jhumpa writes best when she covers people closest to her - in this case Indians living in the USA. Like the reviewer in the New York Times - my overall reaction to the book was Wow !!!
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