Interpreter of Maladies - Section 3 - through the end

[Tamara]

Discuss through the end of the book. Please place spoilers under a cut. Happy reading!

[Kamil]

I was absolutely charmed by Mrs Sen's story.

At the beginning I though there's something magical in her refusal to abandon Calcutta's way of life. Later on however, her frustration juxtaposed to real powerlessness of Eliot, young boy to whom she vocalizes her disappointment, made me realize, that she is the one that doesn't make any effort.

Mrs. Sen's constant refusal to compromise was kind of child-like. Then we have a young boy, without enough care, who is basically silent about his needs. They are both trapped in their life, but the one with little power to make a change, is actually Eliot.

[Irene]

I loved the way Eliot and Mrs. Sen bonded despite age and cultural differences. Each had something essential to give to the other. Mrs. Sen gave Eliot the attention and nurturing he craved and he gave her companionship and validation.

[Cat]

I flew through this collection. I think I read it in two days. I recognized a lot of my family's experiences in it; the ambivalence toward assimilation, the parents' pull back to the "homeland," (Mrs. Sen) the children's Americanization (in the Interpreter of Maladies). It really captures the liminal state of immigration. I loved the last line of the book and how proud the character is of immigrating. I see this in my own father: proud of what he's built in America, not needing to look back. I love how we can contrast his immigrant experience with Mrs. Sen's ("Everything is in India") and see how essentialist it is to talk about "the immigrant experience" as if there is only one experience. I also liked that this collection won the Pulitzer, which is for American literature. I love that immigrants and first generation Americans are now included in this definition.

[Ashley]

I read this collection in a day or two and did enjoy it. I thought the first story was heartbreaking and really enjoyed Mrs. Sen and the old lady in the last story. While I liked the collection I wasn't blown away by them and felt a little underwhelmed. I really thought I would love these stories more than I did.

I love how you could relate through your family's experiences with immigration, Cat. What a neat way to be able to look at these stories.

[Shirley]

I'm not normally a short story reader but found this collection addictive to read. I think the tone was similar enough to read more than one in a sitting so that it felt a bit like reading a novel but just jumping to different protagonists.
The story that really affected me was the one with the older lady with the keys.
Her just saying "believe me, believe me" at the end made my throat close up and consider not wanting to read any more as I felt so sad afterwards.

[Kamil]

Cat wrote: "I flew through this collection. I think I read it in two days. I recognized a lot of my family's experiences in it; the ambivalence toward assimilation, the parents' pull back to the "homeland," (M..."

It's a great thing to experience a book this way, to channel it through your own experience. I loved your comment.

[Nicqui]

I have just finished and I thought this whole collection was interesting. My favourite story was Twinkle and her collection of Christian treasures. I loved how excited she got about uncovering new paraphernalia of another religion.

I was really sad about how Bibi Haldar and Boori Ma's stories ended. Such blatant cruelty on the part of some of those around them.

I loved the relationship between Mrs. Sen and Eliot. It felt comfortable and simple. I do think she needed to adjust a little more to her new situation. Perhaps then she would have been a little happier. You could also tell it was beginning to wear on her husband.

Mrs. Croft's story was sad but I liked that it was really one of the few stories that ended with a happy ending, despite her passing. I liked that in the end she lived a long life and got to experience the world changes.

[Tamara]

I really enjoyed this collection though it took me a while to get into it. I'm also having a hard time focusing my thoughts on it as well.

I think my favorite story of all was The Third and Final Continent. I think it summed up the entire collection well. I thought the relationship between the narrator and his wife was really beautiful. It seemed very "arranged marriage" to me, where the couple marries for one set of reasons and then falls very much in love and builds a life together. I also really enjoyed Mrs. Croft's disguised wisdom. She didn't say much, but what she did say really had a profound effect on the narrator. I'm glad this was the story that finished the entire collection.