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Interpreter of Maladies
Escrito por Jhumpa Lahiri
Narrado por Matilda Novak
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Stories that linger…
Lahiri is a sensitive observer of the micro relationships that form between strangers in different situations: a tour, a dinner party, a tutoring session. These are stories that linger, that become a part of you.
Descripción
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri's elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of cultures and generations.
Lahiri writes with deft cultural insight reminiscent of Anita Desai and a nuanced depth that recalls Mavis Gallant. This, her Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories, features characters navigating between the Indian traditions they’ve inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri’s elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of cultures and generations.
In “A Temporary Matter,” published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth, while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession.
Lahiri writes with deft cultural insight reminiscent of Anita Desai and a nuanced depth that recalls Mavis Gallant. This, her Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories, features characters navigating between the Indian traditions they’ve inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri’s elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of cultures and generations.
In “A Temporary Matter,” published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth, while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession.
Acciones del libro
Comenzar a escucharInformación sobre el libro
Interpreter of Maladies
Escrito por Jhumpa Lahiri
Narrado por Matilda Novak
Nota del editor
Stories that linger…
Lahiri is a sensitive observer of the micro relationships that form between strangers in different situations: a tour, a dinner party, a tutoring session. These are stories that linger, that become a part of you.
Descripción
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri's elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of cultures and generations.
Lahiri writes with deft cultural insight reminiscent of Anita Desai and a nuanced depth that recalls Mavis Gallant. This, her Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories, features characters navigating between the Indian traditions they’ve inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri’s elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of cultures and generations.
In “A Temporary Matter,” published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth, while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession.
Lahiri writes with deft cultural insight reminiscent of Anita Desai and a nuanced depth that recalls Mavis Gallant. This, her Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories, features characters navigating between the Indian traditions they’ve inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri’s elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of cultures and generations.
In “A Temporary Matter,” published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth, while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession.
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Some of the stories are poignant...maybe a bit too much so, but in the end the stories work together to form a whole...no news, as it's won a Pulitzer....
These short stories are mainly set in America, but sometimes in India, and feature mostly Indian-Americans, but sometimes Indians. I found them moving and gentle, although fairly sad. They made me want to try mustard oil!
Excellent collection of stories characterizing the lives of Indian and Indian-Americans who try to make their world work despite living at times in conflicting worlds. I was particularly fond of Mr. Pirzada, the charming misfit who touched a young girl's heart by reaching out to her in a simple, sweet, old-fashioned fashion. Reminded me of my Danish great-uncle who I loved dearly as much because of his quirks as anything else.
An amazing collection of short stories. A good read on your own, or with a book club. I wanted several of the stories to be novels.
I really appreciated all of the short stories in this book. Definitely gave me some knowledge and insight into a culture I am otherwise mostly ignorant of. I will be looking to learn more. As for the writing, I loved the ordinary observations Lahiri wove into the overall theme of each chapter/the book. Great read.
The stories, on the surface, are simple storytelling, but breathtakingly beautiful at the same time. It is an extremely talented author that can take short vignettes about regular people, and make it so authentic and beautiful.
I was very disappointed with this collection of short stories. I went into this thinking that as a Pulitzer Prize Winner, this had to be a book I would enjoy. I was very wrong. While the author is obviously a skilled writer, I was not blown away by the writing style. With maybe one exception, the stories were all depressing and left me feeling sad or apathetic toward the characters. I felt like many of them were left without a resolution, and I wanted more closure. My guess is that these stories were written in this way on purpose, but I found the read very unsatisfying.
Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of short stories dealing with Indian-Americans for the most part. A few stories take place in India, but most are placed in New England. They relate the immigrant experience, the dislocation felt by those born in another country and by those born here visiting back in India. There's different views on raising children, marriage (both arranged and otherwise), and dealing with differences between the sexes. The stories are well-written and, as with all collections, some stand out better than others depending on the reader. I enjoyed A Temporary Matter and Interpreter of Maladies the most, but all of the stories were enjoyable.
This is a finely written collection of stories, all of which have at least some characters in or from India. With one exception, all of the "Indian" characters interact with others outside their cultural background, and even the one exception to that involves an individual Indian "outsider" within her own Indian society. The author has a clean, personable style that keeps one's interest, without offering much of real excitement. The stories deal with "normal" life with various mixed cultural differences, which, in the end, emphasize more individual human differences, somewhat camouflaged by and mistaken for the cultural ones.
Writes well but only three stories really do it for me - probably the content rather than the writing. In the other tales many of the characters do not have an internal logic. They come across (to me at any rate) as stupid, selfish, unaware. The stories that I like give the characters an internal logic for their actions - in the others characters come across as patronised by the author, or perhaps stereotypes. The ones I really like are:
Sexy
Mrs Sen's
The Third and Final Continent
(plus an honourable mention for This Blessed House)
Interesting that all these are in the latter half of the book.....
Sexy
Mrs Sen's
The Third and Final Continent
(plus an honourable mention for This Blessed House)
Interesting that all these are in the latter half of the book.....
Beautiful inspiring book!
Absolutely wonderful.
Memorable - stories all with gentle vivid portrayals; indelible, yet all so sad.Finely drawn insights into many characters capture our imaginations and makeus want each of them, like Mr. Kapesi, to have their innocent happiness.Despite too much fish, I loved Mr. and Mrs. Sen and wish that the young man had returned to visit them...fine start for a novel!
As a group we enjoyed the short story format as a break from the larger novel. Lahiri's work is gentle, intimate with pedestrian tableaus so beautifully expressed. We all had a favorite and had to take issue with a couple of the characters, but the themes of love and being foreign are elegantly connected.
Fabulous Read. The descriptions are realistic and she has her own style of developing scenes from description of material aspects.
Ingenious, moving, hilarious, painful, amusing: these stories surprise in their variety. I especially liked Sexy because of the ingenious way the author confronted the main person with the consequences of her deeds. This Blessed House is a really funny story, completely different from the others. The characters in the stories are always real and intriguing.
Meh. Well written but with nothing to say. A compilation of nine short stories, all along the same theme - which is anachronistic snapshots of lives of Indian/Bangladeshi immigrants from 50ish years ago. There's no date given, but I can't see any of the western lives being lived any later than the 70s. There's a mix of immigration from Bangladesh to India, and from and to India and the US. AT no point doe sit seem relevant. Neither does anything happen at any point, to anyone. Careful character portraits are fine and it is quite a skilled writing set to capture them. But if you don't use them, and they aren't of real people, then why bother. There's a good mix of young and old, male and female, all suffering (and generally not getting to grips with) living in a different place to that which you've accustomed to. But really it's not that hard, it's just different, and unsurprisingly if you don't change to adapt to the culture you've moved to, you'll find life difficult. People don't do it that way at home is not sufficiently fascinating to write stories about - relate real life episodes and moan with friends for sure - but that's not what this is.The best was probably the 2nd story - where a young girl's family hosts a Bangladeshi professor for a few weeks, and she's somewhat confused, and the last - where a young Indian man discovers that american women are older than they look. The title story is particularly poor, based around a mis-interpretation of what a Indian cab driver's other job is. It's very contrived and not at all obvious that this is a mis-understanding anyone could make. They are really all quite similar and blur a bit in to one another.The writing remains elegant and sparse, descriptively capturing people and surroundings but only a little of their emotions and lives. Really just a shame that nothing came of it. An equivalent to the pretentious boring "literature" of women gossiping in a cafe.
Amazon already shows over a thousand reviews of this Pulitzer Prize winner, overwhelmingly positive. One more positive review seems superfluous, so I'll just say that, while I did enjoy the stories in INTERPRETER OF MALADIES (a favorite was "Sexy"), I've read three of her other books (THE NAMESAKE, THE LOWLAND and UNACCUSTOMED EARTH) which I liked more than this one. But it'a all relative, a matter of degree. Jhumpa Lahiri is an incredibly talented writer who will remain a particular favorite. Very highly recommended. - Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
Pulitzer winner.
This is a lovely collection of stories, that are mostly from the third-person, but have two that are from the first person. The overriding theme is seperation and the inability of people to understand each other - whether it is a bewildered immigrant, a husband and wife, a young boy and his divorcing parents, etc. It is melancholy, with personal tragedies, but it is well-written and compelling, and you feel for each character, who are made distinct from those in the other story, though you can tell they inhabit the same universe.
Very satisfying.
A simple writing style. The conventional shock of recognition. As if these stories are deserved, not earned. The stories are neat, a little too neat maybe. The symbols and metaphors are chaste, a little too chaste. The stories are well-written, blameless and a little too polished. "Written" as such, they lacked the haphazard beauty of imperfection. The art of living that does not strive for peace of mind, but for a calmness born of awkward harmonies. There is a sense of being propelled, goaded, into submission. The stories leave one gasping for hope, even when, in a story, it is hope itself that was lost. My favorite story in this collection is the last one ("The Third and Final Continent"), which sums up everything into wholeness and brings into perspective the malaise and maladies interpreted for the reader. I also liked "This Blessed House" which has an element of improvisation to it.
To say that Jhumpa Lahiri is a good writer is like calling Michael Jordan a decent ball player. In her debut collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, Lahiriâs wordsmithery is every bit as dazzling as Air Jordan moving the ball down the court and bringing the crowd to its feet. In short: she shoots, she scores!Born in London to Indian parents, Lahiri grew up in Rhode Island, but visited India several times over the years. In the collectionâs nine stories, she draws on this immigrant experience to create worlds where characters live in a political and social limboâone foot in this country, the other back in the homeland. Some of the tales are set in the 1960s when America and countries like Pakistan were going through similar political turmoil.Though none of the stories are anything less than perfect, the very best ones are set in the United States and are so intimate, so fine-tuned that it wouldnât surprise me to find theyâre drawn at least partially from Lahiriâs own experience.In âSexy,â? a young American woman has an affair with a man she meets at a department store perfume counter. When he tells her heâs a Bengali, she thinks itâs a religion until he condescendingly shows her a map. Lahiri skillfully moves the reader through all the stages of an extramarital affair, as seen through the eyes of an insecure young woman fumbling toward independence.The title storyâset in Indiaâbrings us infidelity from a manâs perspective as a tour guide fantasizes about the unhappy housewife heâs escorting through a temple. She asks him to write his address on a scrap of paper and, mistaking her meaning, his hopes begin to soar. When the wind later blows away that piece of paper, his pain is sharp and poignant.âWhen Mr. Pirzada Came to Dinnerâ? describes what happens when an immigrant couple invites a visiting Pakistani professor to dine with them each night as the television news broadcasts civil war atrocities back in Pakistan where Mr. Pirzada has left his wife and children. The story is told by the coupleâs ten-year-old daughter who is alternately delighted and puzzled by Mr. Pirzada.He was a compact man, and though his feet were perpetually splayed, and his belly slightly wide, he nevertheless maintained an efficient posture, as if balancing in either hand two suitcases of equal weight. His ears were insulated by tufts of graying hair that seemed to block out the unpleasant traffic of life.You can easily see Lahiriâs Michael Jordan skills are work in that character description. Trust me, that is not an isolated example of her talent. Here are a couple of others for your reading pleasure:The man was tanned, with black hair that was visible on his knuckles. He wore a flamingo pink shirt, a navy blue suit, a camel overcoat with gleaming leather buttons.andShe had silver eyes and skin as pale as paper, and the contrast with her hair, as dark and glossy as an espresso bean, caused people to describe her as striking, if not pretty.This is the kind of prose that turns aspiring writers several shades of green in the time it takes them to read one paragraph. Interpreter of Maladies won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize, among other well-deserved heaps of prizes and praise from critics. The fact that Lahiri has honed a talent this pristine at such a relative young age (33) is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Each story is polished until it gleams like a many-faceted gem (or a glossy coffee bean). She writes of marriagesâwith all their strained silences and lonely dinnersâwith the depth and perception of seasoned American masters like John Updike and John Cheever.My favorite selection is the first storyââA Temporary Matterâ?âwhere a married couple near the brink of divorce rediscovers a tentative, fragile kind of love, thanks to a nightly power outage. The âtemporary matterâ? refers as much to their marriage as it does to the electric companyâs planned maintenance. In the flickering candlelight, the husband sees his wife in, literally, a whole new light:He pictured her face clearly in the dark, the wide tilting eyes, the full grape-toned lips, the fall at age two from her high chair still visible as a comma on her chin. Each day, Shukumar noticed, her beauty, which had once overwhelmed him, seemed to fade. The cosmetics that had seemed superfluous were necessary now, not to improve her but to define her somehow.Wow. Even re-reading it now, breath catches in my throat. Interpreter of Maladies is filled with hundreds of moments like thatâincredible, impeccable moments of realization, sorrow, love, pity and triumphâall of them written with the kind of strength that brings a crowd to its feet.
Very pleasant collection of short stories. Good rhythm and flow
Greatly enjoyed. Well recommended. A soothing pace. Relaxing. A fine choice.
I really enjoyed this book, though I'm reading it a little later than everyone else. it reads like a rich classic, each short story envelopes you and makes a connection with the characters despite only knowing them for a little while. as someone from a subcontinental culture, the finer details really resonate. it is a true portrait of the culture, written from the perspective of love, relationships and new shores.
Ms. Lahiri gives such dignity to the mundane. She writes with a beautiful melancholy that will haunt you and keep you searching in your own life for the magic in the ordinary. There is such profound insight into relationships in every story she tells.
Larhiri's short stories take place either in the Boston area or in India. Most of them are melancholy. I liked them, but they didn't blow me away, just made me a little sad. The narrator seemed unfamiliar with the pronunciation of place names like Filene's and Mapparium. No problem with Nickelodeon though (I'd almost forgotten about that place!)
The Interpreter of Maladies is not only a collection of nine short stories, but I think, a name well suited to the author, Jhumpa Lahiri. Her writing is direct and easy, yet expertly and artistically controlled. She gives you just enough detail in the right places so that her subtle hints help bridge the landscape of her characters and their stories. Yes, her stories entail the immigrant experience, but they also tell a universal story; the story of ordinary living that compels you to appreciate and consider the implications they have.
There is the story of the couple who has grown apart only to reveal the vulnerable parts of themselves to each other in the dark.
There is the story of the bond between a father figure and a girl only to be separated by borders and the reunion of the man with his missing wife and seven children.
There is the story of desire for an American tourist only to discover she is compelled to confess her own indiscretion to her tour guide.
There is the stigma and scapegoat of a street woman for the woes of an old apartment building.
There is the love and tolerance of an American mistress toward her Bengali lover only to understand the inevitability of the relationship’s failure.
There is the bond and love between an Indian babysitter and a neglected American boy.
And the culmination of a secretly unhappy marriage due to a flamboyant wife compelled to ignore her husband’s wishes by collecting Christian artifacts.
And the story of the isolation and desolation of a woman neglected and misunderstood because of her episodes of epilepsy.
Lahiri is a master storyteller who doesn’t hide behind obtuse language to prove she is a good writer. She tells you just enough so that you can understand her characters’ positions and experiences as if they are your own. And she makes the plots interesting enough, that once you come away from the stories, you linger, wishing there were more.
She is a wonderful ambassador of India and America and what it means to be on the peripheral. I am glad to say that Jhumpa Lahiri is my new heroine as a masterful writer, an intelligent artist, and a person with the heart of a poet.
There is the story of the couple who has grown apart only to reveal the vulnerable parts of themselves to each other in the dark.
There is the story of the bond between a father figure and a girl only to be separated by borders and the reunion of the man with his missing wife and seven children.
There is the story of desire for an American tourist only to discover she is compelled to confess her own indiscretion to her tour guide.
There is the stigma and scapegoat of a street woman for the woes of an old apartment building.
There is the love and tolerance of an American mistress toward her Bengali lover only to understand the inevitability of the relationship’s failure.
There is the bond and love between an Indian babysitter and a neglected American boy.
And the culmination of a secretly unhappy marriage due to a flamboyant wife compelled to ignore her husband’s wishes by collecting Christian artifacts.
And the story of the isolation and desolation of a woman neglected and misunderstood because of her episodes of epilepsy.
Lahiri is a master storyteller who doesn’t hide behind obtuse language to prove she is a good writer. She tells you just enough so that you can understand her characters’ positions and experiences as if they are your own. And she makes the plots interesting enough, that once you come away from the stories, you linger, wishing there were more.
She is a wonderful ambassador of India and America and what it means to be on the peripheral. I am glad to say that Jhumpa Lahiri is my new heroine as a masterful writer, an intelligent artist, and a person with the heart of a poet.
Interpreter of Maladies is a series of short stories (by the author of the Namesake—which I loved) about characters, both Indian and European/American—some immigrants-some in India, navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and baffling new worlds they must contend with. One of my favorite stories, "A Temporary Matter," Shoba and Shukumar take advantage of a blackout in their neighborhood and use the time to confront the problems in their marriage and grieve for their stillborn child—which turns out to be heartbreaking for reasons you do not expect. Another favorite, "This Blessed House", is a story about the bewilderment of a man who has entered into an arranged marriage and starts discovering the woman who is his wife. It is only through the eyes of friends at a party that he sees his wife as she is and love begins to grow." The Third and Final Continent" follows a young man's journey from India to London and finally to the United States, where he rents a room from a 103-year-old woman while waiting for his new bride to arrive—which turns out to be surprisingly sweet and comforting. All of these stories are incredibly beautiful, poignant, and bittersweet. 4 ½ out of 5 stars.