Books of the Month

'The Interpreter of Maladies' by Jhumpa Lahiri

Jhumpa Lahiri's first book, this collection of stories set in India and the United States won her the prestigious Pullitzer Prize in 2000. The Interpreter of Maladies focuses on Indians in exile, cut off from what they hold familiar and sent forth into a world of new experience, and the places where old and new Indian cultures meet.

In the first story, 'A Temporary Matter', a daily powercut tests the fragile relationship of Shukumar and Shoba, a couple who have recently lost a child through miscarriage. The hour of enforced darkness for five consecutive nights begins to bring them closer. In the title story an Indian tour guide encounters the clash of values and expectations of a wealthy American-Indian wife, revisiting her homeland with her husband and children.

These are skilfully written stories, evocative of place as much as of all the unspoken tensions and desires of human relationships. If you enjoy this book, you could also try Lahiri's novel, The Namesake.

Susan Tranter

Online Reader in Residence

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