Reviews

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

_clelia's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Jhumpa Lahari manages to convey complex experiences of be-/longing, home, immigration and many more in such a short span of pages.
She writes beautifully and all the stories are engaging, particularly on an emotional level. 

The reason for the missing 1.25 stars is, apart from a few short passages that fell - in comparison - a little bit flat, mainly due to the predictability of some of the stories. There is usually a man engaged in academia, a wife trying to adapt to her new surroundings and the urge to find some version of a family so far from home. As a consequence the short stories lose some of their punch by being group together this way. 

jessicaswink's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

meadowbat's review against another edition

4.0

Jhumpa Lahiri tells stories the semi-old-fashioned way: beautiful details, simple language, no postmodern bells and whistles. I used to be suspicious of this style. It seemed too sedate, too beloved by my undergrad creative writing teachers. But now that maximalism is mainstream (as my partner pointed out when I tried to claim otherwise), the contrarian in me is all, "Hey, maybe I should check out that Raymond Carver fellow." My reading and enjoyment of this book seems related. While I didn't quite devour the book, I did develop a quiet love for it, like the narrator of the last story does for his arranged bride. My favorite stories were "A Temporary Matter," the heartbreaking story of a couple whose world goes sour after the stillbirth of their child; and "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar," about a sick woman who refuses to suffer in stoic silence, and the town who finally listens.

raghavs's review against another edition

5.0

"Something happened when the house was dark. They were able to talk to each other again."

I am always excited with Jhumpa Lahiri's writing. She writes like she speaks to me, as one expat to another.

woobat's review against another edition

4.0

A lovely collection of short stories all related in some way to immigration and the immigrant experience. Short stories aren’t my comfort zone - I sometimes find it jarring to enter and leave a story so quickly, but the stories in this collection all felt like the pieces of a whole - though about entirely different characters and not connected in any way, which helped with that issue.

nahiacal's review against another edition

3.0

Lo he tenido que leer para la universidad y la verdad es que me ha gustado bastante. Está escrito en un inglés sencillo, que es una de las características de la autora por lo que hemos visto en clase, así que es fácil de entender. Eso si, no se si es cosa mía o qué pero no he terminado de entender el final.

willaro28's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

swiffer392's review against another edition

2.0

it was okay, i felt like none of the stories were extremely memorable

caitlingf90's review against another edition

4.0

Stories full of loneliness and longing.

Up and down with some better than others for sure, but the best stories were really beautiful.
7/10

annphin's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0