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Interpreter of Maladies: Stories | 
 enlarge | Author: Jumpa Lahiri
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy Used: $15.69
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Used (7) from $15.69
Avg. Customer Rating:  462 reviews
Sales Rank: 576753
Format: Large Print
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 312
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.7 x 5.7 x 1
ISBN: 0786264349
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780786264346
ASIN: 0786264349
Publication Date: 2004
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Condition: PROMPT SHIPPING; ALL SHIPPING AVAILABLE; MONEY BACK GUARANTEE; EX LIBRARY COPY WITH TYPICAL MARKINGS; LIKE NEW CONDITION
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Amazon.com
Mr. Kapasi, the protagonist of Jhumpa Lahiri's title story, would certainly have his work cut out for him if he were forced to interpret the maladies of all the characters in this eloquent debut collection. Take, for example, Shoba and Shukumar, the young couple in "A Temporary Matter" whose marriage is crumbling in the wake of a stillborn child. Or Miranda in "Sexy," who is involved in a hopeless affair with a married man. But Mr. Kapasi has problems enough of his own; in addition to his regular job working as an interpreter for a doctor who does not speak his patients' language, he also drives tourists to local sites of interest. His fare on this particular day is Mr. and Mrs. Das--first-generation Americans of Indian descent--and their children. During the course of the afternoon, Mr. Kapasi becomes enamored of Mrs. Das and then becomes her unwilling confidant when she reads too much into his profession. "I told you because of your talents," she informs him after divulging a startling secret. I'm tired of feeling so terrible all the time. Eight years, Mr. Kapasi, I've been in pain eight years. I was hoping you could help me feel better; say the right thing. Suggest some kind of remedy. Of course, Mr. Kapasi has no cure for what ails Mrs. Das--or himself. Lahiri's subtle, bittersweet ending is characteristic of the collection as a whole. Some of these nine tales are set in India, others in the United States, and most concern characters of Indian heritage. Yet the situations Lahiri's people face, from unhappy marriages to civil war, transcend ethnicity. As the narrator of the last story, "The Third and Final Continent," comments: "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." In that single line Jhumpa Lahiri sums up a universal experience, one that applies to all who have grown up, left home, fallen in or out of love, and, above all, experienced what it means to be a foreigner, even within one's own family. --Alix Wilber
Product Description
A New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award
Notable Book of the Year: The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, and Publishers Weekly The nine stories in this stunning debut collection unerringly chart the emotional journeys of characters seeking love beyond the barriers of nations and generations. Imbued with the sensual details of Indian culture, these stories speak with passion and wisdom to everyone who has ever felt like a foreigner. Like the interpreter of the title story, Lahiri translates between the strict traditions of her ancestors and a baffling new world.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 457 more reviews...
 One of the best books I've ever read August 16, 2008
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.
Excellent collection of stories August 5, 2008
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.
Lovely stories July 30, 2008
I'm a fan of Lahiri's and enjoyed Namesake as well. Check it out for yourself and I'm sure you will agree. I too am tired of reading stories of the "Indianness" of being Indian. So as an Indian I appreciate this.
 Dark and macabre July 17, 2008
The book was very well written, but I found it to be a little too dark and macabre for my tastes - not exactly something you'd want to curl up and sink into...
Some great stories, others not memorable July 17, 2008
I liked most of these stories. The first story, "A Temporary Matter," made me cry and lament a tragic failure of people to communicate and understand one another. The last story, "The Third and Final Continent," was equally moving, and restored my faith that there is innocence in love.
Overall, Lahiri's keen understanding of the nuances of relationships is impressive. In her brief stories, the complicated relationships between the characters are remarkably well-developed. She is equally deft at capturing the nuances of the human personality- her characters often can't be labeled as protagonists or antagonists. Rather, they exist in the same gray moral area as the typical reader.
The main fault I find with this collection, however, is a lack of consistency. It is easy for me to pick out the stories that were extraordinary in the book and, as for the rest, they tend to be somewhat forgettable. To be honest,I was also a bit put off by the sparsity of Lahiri's writing and the absence of figurative language which, for me, is a beautiful and important element of short fiction. Metaphor and other figurative techniques can add, succinctly, a deeper layer of meaning which Lahiri's stories lack somewhat.
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