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September 13, 2004
Jhumpa Lahiri - Interpreter of Maladies
I think the Wall St. Journal review says it best, "Eloquent....a writer of uncommon sensitivity and restraint." Jhumpa Lahiri's first book of fiction, a collection of short stories - Interpreter of Maladies has won numerous awards including a Pulitzer prize. For anyone who loves short stories, this is a must read. Lahiri's stories are subtle, haunting, and beautifully written. From the Indian American couple recovering from still birth of their first child, to the epileptic girl who overcomes her patron's rejection to create a life for herself, these stories' characters are sensitively drawn, leaving them etched into our subconscious. What does become of the woman who guards the stairway of an apartment complex, only to be kicked out after she loses all of her life's savings?
My mother handed me this book a week ago and insisted that I read it. Once I started I realized I had already read it a year or two before. But I drank up the stories again, happily indulging in the beautiful writing.
Posted by elise at 4:00 PM
to Fiction
Comments
I think of this book as reflecting an intricate relationship in a family originally from a culture quite different from that in the U.S. Of partiuclar significance is the relationship between Gogol (after reading the book it seemed to me that he would have after all liked to have been Gogol) and his father. The best thing is, throughout the book, this relationship is however not talked about or portrayed in an excessive manner - it is quite subtle and that is what makes it elegant. The last couple of pages are absolutely exquisite especially when Gogol recovers the book that his father had presented to him on his birthday.
The setting of the book starting from 1968 to the new millenium seamlessly transports the reader through the decades. Additionally, I am sure that quite a few Indians will be able to identify with the apparently limitless pot-lucks that seem to be a regular weekend feature no matter where one is in this country. The description was quite humorous and stark at the same time.
Overall, I think it was absolutely unputdownable and quite a refreshing read. This is not a movie and what others might say about dragging a little bit, I think that the digressions only lent more flavor to the brew.
Posted by: ND at July 27, 2006 9:57 PM
