Interpreter of Maladies
Jhumpa Lahiri is an amazing writer. She could be describing the most mundane detail of daily life, and somehow she makes it intriguing. I read The Namesake a few months ago and fell in love with her writing style and set out to find more from this author.
If this collection of short stories has any fault it is that I wanted the stories to continue on for more than one chapter. Lahiri does such a fantastic job of illustrating the cultural divide between structured Indian cultures and the overwhelming American culture in which her characters often find themselves.
Two of my favorite shorts came early in the book; “A Temporary Matter,” in which a married couple, struggling to come to terms with grief must spend a week of evenings without electricity and learn how to spend time together again was incredibly moving. The next story, “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,” was not only beautifully written, but also somehow allowed Lahiri to seamlessly switch from the personal to the political. As someone who is only aware of the Pakistani civil war in political terms, it was interesting to read about it in a social context: a man far from his home, worried about his family left behind to deal with civil war. I loved the narrating character’s way of praying for Mr. Pirzada’s family: eating a piece of candy and thinking of them. It was such a perfect way for a child to pay tribute. I also really enjoyed “Mrs. Sen’s.” Once again, this is a story narrated by an adult’s remembrance of a childhood scene, and Lahiri does such a good job of making it believable.
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