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Book Reviews
Interpreter
of Maladies
A book By Jhumpa Lahiri;
Reviewed by Subhajit
Ghosh
Well, everyone knows that
Jhumpa won Pulitzer prize for this work of hers. The book contains 9 short
stories, of which one of the short story is titled 'Interpreter of
Maladies', which has been chosen as the name of the book.
Is Jhumpa merely a story-teller? Or is she, as the title suggests, an
interpreter of maladies afflicting modern society? Each of the stories
deal with characters caught in the vortex of life, at times finding
happiness by surmounting their problems ( A Temporary Matter) or by a
stroke of luck ( The Treatment of Bibi Halder ). At other times, more
hardship and despair stares at their face in the end ( A Real Durwan) or
their fantasies gets shattered ( Interpreter of Maladies).
The stories are of myriad hues. Even though most of the stories tell the
lives of Indians in exile, of people navigating the strict tradition they
have inherited and the New World they encounter every day. A young couple
exchange confessions each night as they struggle to cope with the loss of
their baby and their failing marriage ; A Bangladeshi Mr. Pirzada worries
about his family back home; a young western lady has a tempestuous affair
with a married Bengali man; an Interpreter guides an American Indian
family through the India of their ancestors and stumbles upon an
astonishing revelation; a nervous Mrs. Sen must learn to drive if she is
to keep her job minding eleven-year-old Eliot after school & an Indian
man who learns to admire a strict 103 year old American lady - the owner
of the house where he lived as a tenant.
Some of the stories, I felt, left the readers with a few questions
unanswered. For example, in the story 'Mrs. Sen' I couldn't figure out at
the end why there existed a gulf between Mr. and Mrs. Sen? Is it the lack
of offspring in their lives? Or was I really missing something? Also in
the story 'The Blessed House,' how come so much of treasure have been left
behind by the previous owners? Jhumpa doesn't attempt to unravel the
mystery behind this treasure stored in the Blessed House, but only inform
her readers that this discovery leads to the relationship between the
newly-wedded couples getting strained.
Overall, Jhumpa weaves magic with her stories. Written in a lucid
language, her work is a delight to read enlightening us about characters,
whether from India or Indians settled in America, effectively capturing
their maladies and proving herself to be a successful interpreter. For
someone who was born and raised in the West, her sketch detailing the
nuances of everyday Indian and particularly Bengali life is masterly.
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