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marie_cure 's review for:
Interpreter of Maladies
by Jhumpa Lahiri
Lahiri's short story collection evaded me from library to library. Eventually, I gave up on getting off the library waitlist for Interpreter of Maladies and borrowed a copy from a professor. From cover to cover, the stories offered intrigue. Never did the characters feel recycled, and Lahiri wove each ending with a small gap, wide enough for the reader to imagine the hypothetical future awaiting its protagonists. I noticed that the point of view was never from the main character. Take "Mrs. Sen's". Instead of being told from Mrs. Sen's perspective, we get little Elliot, a Western boy briefly babysat by her. Moreover, the backgrounds of each character change. Sometimes we had newly immigrated wives, other times we had students and professors. Some saw the Western world as foreign, while others were raised in America and treated their parents' homelands like tourist destinations. These unique choices added a fresh twist to each story.
I adored the tight, intimate setting of "A Temporary Matter", and how food symbolism played into the complicated dynamics of the couple's marriage, including their selfishness. It contrasted wonderfully with the collection's final story. "A Third And Final Continent" felt quaint, and endearing, and invigorated the reader with hope for what migration entails and how South Asian immigrants can find footing in Western environments. Topics like multiculturalism and immigration can often feel jaded, but Lahiri's profound symbolism and diverse character escape repetition and boredom.
I adored the tight, intimate setting of "A Temporary Matter", and how food symbolism played into the complicated dynamics of the couple's marriage, including their selfishness. It contrasted wonderfully with the collection's final story. "A Third And Final Continent" felt quaint, and endearing, and invigorated the reader with hope for what migration entails and how South Asian immigrants can find footing in Western environments. Topics like multiculturalism and immigration can often feel jaded, but Lahiri's profound symbolism and diverse character escape repetition and boredom.