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Interpreter of Maladies (Edition 001)by Jhumpa Lahiri |
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 What a beautiful collection!, November 22, 2008 |
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First off, I can't believe that I have never read this before. Maybe because the Pulitzer Prize was won, I figured that the stories would be too difficult to read or understand. Even though I really loved only 5 of the stories, the other 4 were enjoyable, I just didn't like them as much as the former.
My favorities were: A Temporary Matter, about a young couple who happened to have electricity disconnected for one hour each day, to repair the lines after a snowstorm. The couple also seems to be disconnected, from each other, but this hour each night was the beginning to bring them together. I also loved: When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine about a man who had left his country and his family (a wife and seven daughters) so that he could make money to take care of them, and eventually go back. This couple with a young daughter were looking for Indian acquaintances to connect with. So, they took in Mr. Pirzada most nights for dinner and tv afterward. The story is told through the eyes of the young girl, where both had learned something. She, the meaning of love and family, and he, the meaning of the word, "thank you." One of the best was Interpreter of Maladies, the title story, about a young Indian couple with children, who were very americanized. They visited India every few years to see their parents. Mr. Kapasi was their chaparone, driving them to the Sun Temple at Konarak. The couple appeared to be not at all engaged with their children, but mostly with themselves, viewed through the eyes of Mr. Kapasi. Mr Kapasi seemed enamored with Mrs. Das, and maybe he misunderstood her actions. It made me laugh, and feel sad at the same time, because it reminded me of some older men, and how they believe that they can win the affections of younger women, just because they were once good looking and virile. Sexy was a good story with a touch of irony because Laxmi always talks to her co-worker Miranda about how her cousin was left by her husband for another woman. Meanwhile, Miranda is the other woman with another married man. It reminded me how affairs or even love affairs fall away without one or both of the parties keeping it alive. Mrs. Sen's was enjoyable about an older woman married to a professor, who watched a young boy in her home. She didn't know how to drive, so whenever she needed to pick something up at the store, she would have to call her husband to pick them up, bring them to the store, drop them off, and go back to work. She was learning how to drive, but wasn't quite ready. I liked the way that you see how Mrs. Sen affected Eliot more than his own mom. The Third and Final Continent, the last story in the collection was my favorite of all. It was about a man, who left India, to go to America, working in Boston. He moved into an older ladies house, who hardly moved from her piano bench and only ate soup, because she had stopped eating solids years ago, and she was 103 years old. She would always talk to the man, about how there is a flag on the moon, and she always asked him if he locked the door. Even with only these simple conversations, he always remembered Mrs. Croft, even after he left to move in with his wife. She had a great impact on him. The stories and characters are not connected, except for the fact that the characters are Indian. I loved to read about the culture, what they would eat, and how they would run their homes. The writing is simple and beautiful where the writer would show, but not tell you what was going on. Each story had an element of sadness in it, and some laughs too, but the last story brought tears to my eyes. I loved seeing how Jhumpa Lahiri captured the interconnectedness of humans, across all boundries, and I hope to read her books again soon. |
 Strange Maladies for Sure, October 17, 2008 |
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Early on in the book I was reminded of Eric Berne's work of forty years ago...which he titled Games People Play in an attempt to describe both functional and dysfunctional social interactions.
Berne described the types of social interactions. Now comes Jhumpa Lahiri with her extraordinary talent which allows her to describe how these people communicate with each other and more amazingly, what they say when they communicate with themselves. She is truly an Interpreter of Maladies and as Frederick Busch noted in his oft quoted praise of her Pulitizer.... "Lahiri honors the vastness and variousness of the world." I suspect there are few people who suffer from such maladies but they need an interpreter just like everyone else, I suppose. And Ms. Lahiri is a good one. |
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It Gets Better As You Read It, September 5, 2008 |
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Interpreter of Maladies
I was interested in Jhumpa Lahiri's books because I read some good reviews of them. I also like books about different cultures. At first, I was dissabpointed in these stories. I liked the way she developed the characters and the settings, but the first several stories seemed too tragic. At the end, we were left with little sense of hope for the character's future. The later two or three stories in the book are better. The give you a sense of the lives of the people and also the reader gets a sense that things are not perfect, but there is at least a chance that the character will find some happiness. I would reccommend this book just for the fascinating writing style and character development. |
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One of the best books I've ever read, August 16, 2008 |
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To give a frame of reference, some of my favorite authors are Margaret Atwood and Barbara Kingsolver. I have searched and searched for another introspective, intelligent, strong female voice, and finally I have found it. I plan on buying every one of her books and keeping them forever. In this book alone, my wisdom cache has increased, certainly the mark of a great book. |
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Excellent collection of stories, August 5, 2008 |
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This is one of the best collections of short stories that I have read. Many of her characters stayed with me long after I finished the book. I also enjoyed "The Namesake" and can't wait to read her latest book. |
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