Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Last week, I enthusiastically picked up my pen and made up a reading list for the year (Never too late) and sent it to Sheldons in the world of reading. They knew that my goal is to improve my English and also that I am a noob when it comes to novels and books. My friend and mentor Shyam, told me straight away (like Sheldon) that the list was difficult and sent me across his list for beginners.
From there, I picked up the Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. What a beauty! In one word, AWESOME. The book is extremely rich in literature and vocabulary and is beautiful in the way it portrays every character. It is a collection of 9 short stories and each story, though completely different in the way it has been set up and told, is connected with each other. Most of the stories are about Indian immigrants who moved to America or to India from neighboring countries. They speak about loss and turmoil and failure and sadness and loneliness.
Post reading the first story, I got too excited about what was to come in the rest of the book. The beginnings are perfect and slowly lay out the complete picture in front of you and make you feel the depth of pain the main character feels. You walk along with them as the story proceeds. Each word, each sentence felt like diamonds on paper. At least to me, who has just started reading, I felt a sense of happiness in being able to feel and relate so much with the people in the story. The endings, are unexpected and mostly have loose open ends which I prefer any day.
The main characters come from different income brackets and age groups. They come from or to Calcutta and are Bengalis. They are going through different phases of their life. Yet, they are connected to each other in the way they feel. The stories put you in their shoes and you can relate to them immensely, as they are also the stories of ordinary, regular people. This piece of fiction is as realistic as fiction can be.
I have started asking everyone around me to read this book and have been stalking the life of Jhumpa Lahiri. She is an American author of Indian origin and the daughter of Bengali parents who moved from Calcutta to the UK, where Jhumpa was born, to the United States, where Jhumpa grew up. I saw some of her interviews and she keeps reiterating how her parents had a sense of loss because they moved away from India and this loss got picked up by her and India was not a country too far for her. These feelings encompass the feelings of characters in the book as well.
It is not really a wonder that Lahiri has won Pulitzer prize for this book, which is also her debut novel. It has sold over 15 million copies worldwide. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and pick up the book and live the life of an immigrant.
BRB, watching another Jhumpa Lahiri’s video interview.