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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
I have taught the wonderful title story here for years and finally got around to reading the full set, which has pssst! at me from my shelf for several years now.
And it's predictably amazing. And I wish I'd chucked aside dozens of other books to read this first.
I could perhaps do without "A Real Durwan" in which an isolated woman becomes further isolated and "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar" in which an epileptic woman is likewise isolated.
But beyond those two near-misses, this is among my favorite collections. "A Temporary Matter" about a struggling couple indulging in moments of real honesty over candlelight during rolling brownouts nearly destroyed me. I'll be seeing Mr. Pirzada on the couch, anxiously watching the television for news of home with candy in his pockets for years. "Sexy" is a lamely titled story that smashes apart two tales of infidelity by dropping a surprise baby-sitting gig into the third act. "Mrs. Sen's", the story of a young boy watched after school by the wife of a professor who has not yet found her place in America, is perhaps my favorite; its quotidian rituals and details are note perfect. "This Blessed House" about a scavenger hunt for Christian "relics" abandoned by a house's previous owners is quirky-verging-on-absurd until it becomes a window through which you can see all the nights to come for the central couple, and "The Third and Final Country" about a boarder and his centenarian host is proof that we can all be someone for someone if we just sit down for a moment to be with them.
Those descriptions likely do nothing for you are are largely meant to help me find titles when I come back to reread these stories as I suspect I will several times.
Maybe this is better in the way of a recommendation:
Sometimes when you read a book you learn about characters, imagine rooms, and relate to the emotions characters experience; sometimes you meet characters, walk through rooms, and live the emotional lives of characters.
This book is the latter kind.
And it's predictably amazing. And I wish I'd chucked aside dozens of other books to read this first.
I could perhaps do without "A Real Durwan" in which an isolated woman becomes further isolated and "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar" in which an epileptic woman is likewise isolated.
But beyond those two near-misses, this is among my favorite collections. "A Temporary Matter" about a struggling couple indulging in moments of real honesty over candlelight during rolling brownouts nearly destroyed me. I'll be seeing Mr. Pirzada on the couch, anxiously watching the television for news of home with candy in his pockets for years. "Sexy" is a lamely titled story that smashes apart two tales of infidelity by dropping a surprise baby-sitting gig into the third act. "Mrs. Sen's", the story of a young boy watched after school by the wife of a professor who has not yet found her place in America, is perhaps my favorite; its quotidian rituals and details are note perfect. "This Blessed House" about a scavenger hunt for Christian "relics" abandoned by a house's previous owners is quirky-verging-on-absurd until it becomes a window through which you can see all the nights to come for the central couple, and "The Third and Final Country" about a boarder and his centenarian host is proof that we can all be someone for someone if we just sit down for a moment to be with them.
Those descriptions likely do nothing for you are are largely meant to help me find titles when I come back to reread these stories as I suspect I will several times.
Maybe this is better in the way of a recommendation:
Sometimes when you read a book you learn about characters, imagine rooms, and relate to the emotions characters experience; sometimes you meet characters, walk through rooms, and live the emotional lives of characters.
This book is the latter kind.
Jhumpa Lahiri's first book of short stories, the book that won her the Pulitzer Prize, is stunning in its simplicity and brilliance. The book opens with "A Temporary Matter" and tells the story of a married couple dealing with themselves and each other after suffering the loss of their baby. When faced with five nights of "lights out" as repairmen worked on a line that had gone down in a recent snowstorm, a seemingly innocent game sheds light on matters that they had both held captive in the dark. The last story "The Third and Final Continent" tells the story of the voyages we take in life set upon the backdrop of the first landing on the moon. These opening and closing stories, and every single one in between, are simply magical.
Some of the stories were Amazing and some I didn’t really engage with; the first, third, 5th, and last were all beautiful
Charming and heartbreaking. You can read the whole thing in an afternoon, but better to read each story one by one and let them sit with you a bit.
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Absolutely incredible collection of short stories. I've never felt as seen as an immigrant as by these stories
overall i loved the style of the writing and how easy it was to relate to/feel empathy for each character … individual ratings of the short stories are:
a temporary matter: ★ ★ 1/2
when me. pirzada came to dine: ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
interpreter of maladies: ★ ★ ★
a real durwan: ★ ★
sexy: ★ 1/2
mrs. sen’s: ★ ★ ★
this blessed house: ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
the treatment of bibi haldar: ★
the third and final continent: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
a temporary matter: ★ ★ 1/2
when me. pirzada came to dine: ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
interpreter of maladies: ★ ★ ★
a real durwan: ★ ★
sexy: ★ 1/2
mrs. sen’s: ★ ★ ★
this blessed house: ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
the treatment of bibi haldar: ★
the third and final continent: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A very strong series of short stories about the daily lives of ordinary Indians. Most are extremely bleak, but the writing is often exceptional.
I appreciate these stories in that they give a true slice of life rather a saccharine, feel-good version of life. It was emotionally difficult to read some while others left me thinking about them long after they were read. Thought provoking.