Have been lugging around Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of maladies for almost a month now and finally have finished it. The reason it took me so long to finish this book is probably because it is a collection of short stories and once you’ve finished one – there is no big hurry to get on and finish the next one.
What impressed me most is that all her stories have open endings. You are free to come to your own conclusion of what could be. And also the fact that all her story ideas are amazingly original and inspired from life – must say.. As the jacket cover of the book says stories of bengal, boston and beyond.
There are in all nine short stories all having a different protagonist in terms of a man or a woman and belonging to different cultures and age groups. For instance the first one is about an estranged couple who find common ground when they are faced with a simple crisis in life. The next one is about the impression a young kid has of a visitor from a far away land. Then there’s one about a woman who is in love with a married man.
The author has touched all sections of life and has dealt with different situations in life in a very subtle yet intriguing way.
Her writing is simple and effective. She conveys what she has to without beating around the bush – a quality which is to be saluted in writers.
Somewhere her personal touch of being a Bengali does reflect but again most inspirations come from within.
All of the short stories in this book make some kind of comment on people and their ways of living. And it is that touch that makes for good reading.
My favourite story would have to be the last one in the book which is about a man who studied in London; got married in India and moved to America. He lives for six weeks with a landlady who is more than a century old and when his wife comes to live with him he moves to a bigger apartment. How he connects with his wife and how he never forgets the connection with his landlady of six weeks forms the crux of the story. It couldn’t have been more beautifully written.