That a (Western) reader can relate to characters that are oceans away and part of a different culture is a testament to the author’s ability to separate the superficial from the meaningful and the transient from the permanent. Despite the short treatment of each character – as a result of the short-story format – it takes Lahiri mere pages to render incredibly vivid, realistic, very relatable characters.

In any literary-fiction work, characters are almost all that matters, and Interpreter of Maladies delivers. Review Of Interpreter of Maladies: Characters Some of the stories are quite Kafkaesque in their essence, that is, there is a part-absurdist, part-dark quality surrounding them. The result is a thoroughly destabilizing effect that precisely draws attention to the core issues of the given story. Lahiri is exceptionally good at building up momentum, manipulating the reader into believing certain things, only to then shatter the illusion. A Kafkaesque Proseīut don’t let the simplicity of the stories’ plot to fool you, because the narrative is ingenious. Indeed, most of the stories are little more than chunks of everyday life: a married couple taking advantage of power cuts to reveal their secrets a tour guide becoming infatuated with a tourist a woman having an affair with a married man. The collection focuses on characters and cares little about plot. As a result of the short-story format, some elements of literary fiction are less apparent than others, but the fact remains. Interpreter of Maladies is basically literary fiction. Ultimately, that’s what Interpreter of Maladies portrays Review Of Interpreter of Maladies: Genre, Plot, Narrative Beyond superficial differences, all humans face similar problems and share similar fears and dreams.

Rather, the true focus is the uncanny, outright disturbing degree of similarity between people with vastly different backgrounds. After all, most of the characters are Indian expats in the West. Indeed, what Lahiri’s prose reveals is not the differences between the cultures of India and Britain or the Unites States. Ultimately, Interpreter of Maladies is a story about humanity what it means to be a stranger in a strange land or – more subtly – a stranger in your own soul. However, this is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri, is a collection of short stories all featuring characters from the Indian subcontinent.

Author of interpreter of maladies