با اینکه داستان کوتاه سبک مورد علاقه ام نیست، این کتابو به خاطر بردن جایزه پولیتزر انتخاب کردم و جالب اینکه از همه داستان هاش خوشم اومد! هر کدوم قشنگی و پیام خاص خودشو داشت.

The title story and the first story in particular are amazing. I think what I like best about this collection is that, while the characters are primarily Indian, the stories are not primarily *about* being Indian--they're about how relationships, weakness, with culture as a secondary focus only.

A wonderful collection of short stories revolving around people with Indian background living in the U.S or in India. The stories explore themes about culture, family, duty, and the immigration experience.

Some stories are funny, some sad, some left me pensive, I thoroughly enjoyed them all.

داستان‌های این کتاب رو دوست داشتم.
در کنار اینکه از جامعه‌ی هندی مهاجر و رسم و رسوم‌هاشون اطلاعات خوبی رو به خواننده میده، چندتا از دغدغه‌های بزرگ مهاجرین در دنیا رو به تصویر می‌کشه مثل حفظ خانواده، درد غربت، دوگانگی فرهنگی، تلاش برای نگه‌داشتن رسم‌ها و ...
قلم نویسنده و مترجم هم شیرین و خواندنی هستش و درعین حال که مجموعه‌ای از داستان‌های کوتاه هستش، بعضی از داستان‌هاش خیلی خواننده رو درگیر میکنه و به فکر فرو می‌بره.

A beautiful collection of stories. The way Jhumpa Lahiri brings the ordinariness of life alive through her words. I simply loved this book. One I’ll treasure by my bedside table to reread many times over.

بعد از چند سال که دوباره خواندمش انگار چیزهایی به کتاب اضافه شده و در این مدتی که کتاب توی کتابخانه‌ام بوده داستان‌ها مثل درخت رشد کرده‌اند و شاخ و برگ داده‌اند. همه‌شان داستان‌های معرکه‌ای هستند و می‌شود به تنهایی برای هر کدام یک تحلیل مفصل نوشت. عناصر داستانی به بهترین شکل ممکن به کار گرفته شده‌اند و درونمایه‌ی داستان‌ها هم در عین سادگی‌شان که نشات گرفته از احساسات انسانی و مسائل ساده‌ی زندگی هستند، داستان‌های کامل و عمیقی ساخته‌اند.
داستان «یک مسئله‌ی موقتی» داستان زن و مردی است که رابطه‌شان به دلایلی دچار سردی شده است. و مسئله‌ی موقتی قطع برق در چند ساعت از شب باعث می‌شود که آن‌ها هر کدام به نوعی با این مسئله برخورد کنند. داستان انگار قصه‌ی دو سرزمین است. سرزمین مرد و سرزمین زن. مرد تصورات خودش را دارد، نگاه زن، کلام گاه صمیمانه‌اش که بعد از ماه‌ها اتفاق می‌افتد و فشردن دستش توسط او، هر کدام مرد را به سوی برداشتی می‌کشاند اما خواننده نمی‌داند آن‌سو در مرزهای زن چه اتفاقی می‌افتد. نمی‌داند در دنیای زنی که بحرانی را پشت سر گذاشته –و یا شاید هم‌چنان درگیر آن است- چه می‌گذرد. مرد انگار که بازگشته باشد به سال‌ها، ماه‌ها و روزهای نخست رابطه‌شان اضطراب دلچسبی را احساس می‌کند. در طول روز مدام به این فکر می‌کند که چه بگوید، چطور رفتار کند، میز شام را چطور بچیند. در این داستان همه‌چیز سر جای خودش قرار دارد. نشانه‌ها خواننده را به‌سمت فضایی پیش می‌برند که در آن قضاوت بر سر آن‌چه پیش خواهد آمد، دشوار است اما تنها «چرایی» داستان نیست که موجب کشش آن می‌شود، تصویری که نویسنده از رابطه‌ی زخم‌آلود زن و مرد می‌دهد و «چگونگی» برخورد مرد و مهم‌تر از آن واکنش زن است که داستان را به اثری بی‌نقص تبدیل می‌کند.

Once again, a very depressing storyline from yet another author of Indian origin. Remember! I am not being parochial here, I am Indian myself. Being very familiar with Indian cinematography and screenplays, I know that Indians are prone to over emphasizing on family sentiments and emotions. But what I fail to understand is how authors based out of other countries too have the same idea of applying sentiments in a very negative sense to their stories. It also beats me how this won the Pulitzer, just the same way it does to think that God of Small Things won the Booker!

But to Lahiri's credit, her prose is very simplistic and is a pleasure to read, contrary to Roy's. Also, Lahiri's vivid descriptions of life of immigrants in the US is very realistic. But again, I am not sure if I should be giving her too much credit in this regard. She is based out of US and she knows the nuances of life in US (the peanut butter and jelly combination etc.). So, that probably never involved too much research. Real credit goes to authors who write about lifestyles that they are totally unfamiliar with.Take Yann Martel (Yes!He is one of my favorite authors!) for example, his description of life in India in his award winning book, Life Of Pi, is commendable. Unfamiliar with India as he was, he sure did his homework before he wrote the book.

I am currently reading The Namesake by Lahiri to see if I can change my opinion on her writings. After all, reading one book isn't always enough to rate an author who has worked so hard on writing full fledged books!

"She was like that, excited and delighted by little things, crossing her fingers before any remotely unpredictable event, like tasting a new flavor of ice cream, or dropping a letter in a mailbox."

I began reading this title at a random book café just so I could sit down and kill some time. When I came to, I was reminded by the proprietors that it was time for closing up; been at it for four hours.

Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulitzer-winning debut is a collection of short-stories, each story with a distinct flavor of its own. Even though India is a constant theme in all the stories, the stories explore a diversity of themes in varying environments: failing marriages, budding relationships, illicit extra-marital trysts, travelling students, shunned and cursed women and many more.

Some of the stories are really charming. I can recall a few that have stayed with me. However, the quality of the writing felt somewhat inconsistent. That said, I'm definitely intrigued enough to explore further into Lahiri's bibliography.

First published in 1999, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction 2000 has nine short stories: A Temporary Matter, When Mr Pirzada Came to Dine, Interpreter of Maladies, A Real Durwan, Sexy, Mrs Sen's, This Blessed House, The Treatment of Bibi Haldar and The Third and Final Continent.

The stories talk about how we get caught up in our lives and missing out on the genuine pleasures of life which we keep denying ourselves of, immigrants and culture mix, sentiments and emotions, our beliefs and unsettling human nature, marriages and relationships, memories and moments that matter, home and belongingness.

I read this collection two years ago; I reread it again and it still stands good as one of the best short story collections ever written.

The writing is unique, beautiful and has a voice like it doesn't need many words.

The stories have a deeper meaning to each and are told in a way that you would want more when they end.

This book still stands out bold today. If at all, you've been looking for a short story collection, pick up this book. It has lots to offer.

The stories in this collection succeed in doing what good short stories should: they illuminate the little moments, the mundane traumas, the controlled anguishes that blink unspoken and unacknowledged into the everyday. I do not think that Lahiri is an exceptional crafter of prose, but she does have a talent for penetrating the human spirit. There is a closeness and vulnerability to her characters that is genuine.

The stories reveal how culture and upbringing can be fulfilling and liberating, yet also deeply stifling and limiting. The need to belong is powerful, but so is the desire to be accepted and to fit in. The stories centre around Indians living abroad, but their experiences are shared human experiences: separation, loss, infidelity, guilt, ostracisation, and the breakdown of relationships. With subjects like these, it's no wonder that these stories are so powerful, poignant and filled with sadness.

I really enjoyed this collection pf short stories that won the Pulitzer in 2000. Lahiri's limpid text evokes the sadness and nostalgia of being an ex-par - something I can definitely identify with. She has a wonderful word palette allowing her to create these small snapshots of life as a Bengali. My favorite was the title story about a part-time taxi driver taking an American family around to see temples near Calcutta. The driver interprets for country people at a medical clinic as he studied languages that are no longer widely spoken. The way in which the author invokes the cultural distance between the driver and the tourists and his infatuation with the mother/wife of the family is beautiful without being sappy - and sincere enough that the woman actually confesses an infidelity to him. The saddest story I felt was that of Mrs. Sen who takes brief care of little Elliot for a short time in which he learns about frailty and loneliness (mirrored between that of his mother and that of Mrs. Sen). The last story is the most positive and demonstrates how love can evolve from arranged marriages - sometimes due to the most unlikely circumstances.

This is a beautiful book (and completes my reading of all Pulitzer winners between 2000 and 2016) and makes me want to read her longer fiction such as The Namesake.

جومپا لاهیری رو از همشهری داستان شناختم. این کتاب نُه داستان کوتاهه که به زندگی مهاجران هندی در آمریکا می پردازه. کمتر مجموعه داستان کوتاهی میتونست اینقدر منو به وجد بیاره. داستان ها به حدی سرشار از احساس و واقعی اند که تمام مدت لبخند رو لب‌هام بود.
از جومپا لاهیری بخونید که قطعاً پشیمونتون نمیکنه