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Interpreter of Maladies
by Jhumpa Lahiri

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5439.Interpreter_of_Maladies?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Interpreter of Maladies" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165521681m/5439.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5439.Interpreter_of_Maladies?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Interpreter of Maladies</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3670.Jhumpa_Lahiri">Jhumpa Lahiri</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19950062?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 4 of 5 stars<br/>How weird that there's no cover image here. Not like Lahiri is either obscure or out of print. [Rev: Hey, somebody posted the cover! Yea!-4/12/08] Anyway, the author recently caused a mini-controversy by complaining publicly about reviewers questioning her focus on Indian-Americans. Her rhetorical-question response was, "Do people ask Updike and Roth when they're going to write about something other than WASPS and Jews?" Well, as a matter of fact, they do, and they have for probably the past thirty-five years. So maybe the reply was just a wee bit defensive....
<br/>
<br/>Anyway, this is Lahiri's debut, a somber, quiet collection that is less about the typical dilemmas of second-generation immigrants than more universal concerns: family, marriage, infidelity, food. There are no whiplash plot twists or stylistic fireworks; the beauty is in the surety of the prose and the understated human moments. There are excellent stories, most notably, the last, "The Third and Final Continent," which is a happy story based on Lahiri's father's coming to America in the mid-1960s. The only stinkers are "Sexy," which, oddly, is the book's centerpiece, and "This Blessed House," which gets a bit fey with a main character named Twinkle. Three other stories are set in India, including the title piece, a brillaint peek into vanity and self-delusion (not to mention cultural roots).
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/667059?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Kirk's review
rating:
bookshelves: currently-teaching

How weird that there's no cover image here. Not like Lahiri is either obscure or out of print. [Rev: Hey, somebody posted the cover! Yea!-4/12/08] Anyway, the author recently caused a mini-controversy by complaining publicly about reviewers questioning her focus on Indian-Americans. Her rhetorical-question response was, "Do people ask Updike and Roth when they're going to write about something other than WASPS and Jews?" Well, as a matter of fact, they do, and they have for probably the past thirty-five years. So maybe the reply was just a wee bit defensive....

Anyway, this is Lahiri's debut, a somber, quiet collection that is less about the typical dilemmas of second-generation immigrants than more universal concerns: family, marriage, infidelity, food. There are no whiplash plot twists or stylistic fireworks; the beauty is in the surety of the prose and the understated human moments. There are excellent stories, most notably, the last, "The Third and Final Continent...more

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message 1: by Amanda

04/12/2008 09:08AM

Ooooh, Kirkstie! I love your obsession with dates. So sweet of you to put the date on your edit. Your little OCD tendencies are endearing and delightful. I approve!

PS. In that picture, which one are you--the man, the baby, or the beer?