3 Review(s)

The Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri. Summary of the book Incorporating universal themes and showcasing the feeling of being lost experienced by Indians when they move abroad, leaving their motherland, these stories delve into the psyche of Indians and discuss how older generations cope with their need for their roots. It also shows how the younger generations are rediscovering the old, and how they return to their roots to discover their identity and traditions. Unaccustomed Earth, both the title of the book and a short story in the collection, refers to the world that has not yet grown used to the tremors that flow underneath it. Ms. Lahiri speaks of a world constantly under barrage by natural and man-wrought tremors, an Earth, she says, that our ancestors would never recognize. These stories deal with Indian-Americans questioning their privileged lives. Ms. Lahiri's writing flows with her emotions and continues to carry her readers alongside. The characters are down-to-earth and utterly human in their desires. The titular story follows Ruma, a young Indian housewife who moves to Seattle and puts her own career on hold for the demands of a familial life. Her recently widowed father joins her family and although Ruma thinks she will have to baby sit him, Ms. Lahiri shows that she is mistaken. About Jhumpa Lahiri Jhumpa Lahiri is an Indian American writer. She is well known for this collection of short-stories, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize, and for her full-length novels: The Namesake and The Lowland. Ms. Lahiri was appointed a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities by Barack Obama. The Lowland was nominated for the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award For Fiction. The Namesake has since been adapted into a film of the same name.