The problem with most diaspora writers is that they do very little to write beyond their own realm of experience. One might say its an advantage , however, since writing about something one is familiar about brings in a personal perspective, which is interesting, to say the least.
How much of this is true for Jhumpa Lahiri’s Intrepreter Of Maladies, is judged from the fact that in her stories from bengal, boston, and beyond, it is her boston stories that are the most poignant, displaying occasional brilliance in the beyond.
Interpreter Of maladies, as most of you, will be familiar with it now, is a collection of 9 short stories , diagonsing maladies , providing interpretations and misinterpretaions, exploring the continuous flux in relationships in a fragmented environment, exploring rootlessness against unshakeable bonds, moving with ease between great geographical and emotional boundaries. Lahiri is best at portraying the predicament of the "outsider" , prodigal at home , unwelcome in a foregn land.
Memories play an important part in her stories and her characterisation. These memories are juxtaposed upon the alienation her characters feel, Be it Mrs Sen who still chops vegetable on the "viking blade" or the simple ritual of eating out of one’s hand that becomes so important in her last story, The third and the final continent. Infact, this last story can also be treated as a prologue for her later novel, The Namesake, which seems to have carried on from where Interpreter ends.
Perhaps, what is very interesting is the author’s fixation with food. The act of cooking, the act of eating are almost like sacred rituals. Emotions are expressed through the presence or the absence of it. Like in the first story(which incidentally has the best plot). ..or in the title story where even jhalmuri is made to look like an exotic preparation.
Word play is Lahiri’s forte, she excels in it. Keeping it mostly simple , yet vibrant. Characterisation is fairly good and one might say, she takes awful amount of trouble in getting the feelings right. This is ofcourse expected, as she is familiar with the emotions she tries to capture. However it is rather surprising that , being a second generation immigrant herself, she should hav chosen to portray so little of it. In fleeting glimpses in the third story.
Though, there is hardly anything one can complain about when it comes to her style of writing, the plots, unfortunately are a little weak. In the collection, it is only the first and the last story which show a compact and engaging sturcture. Moreover, she does little homework as far as the minute detailing is concerned. For example, she makes Mrs. Sen store sindoor in a Jam jar, an act highly unlikely. The Dixit’s celebrate Kali Puja while it is more natural that they celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi instead.
To conclude then, it is a good read, has its moments, but dissapoints if you expect too much out of it.