هنا بنعومة شفيفة يصلك الأنين الخافت لهذه المجموعة القصصية المتميزة عن المهاجرين من الأصول الهندية والبنغالية في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية...
وإذ بالصوت السردي الهادىء يصطحبك برفقته لتتأمل حياة هؤلاء المغتربين عن أوطانهم ، تتوالى أمام ناظريك صور حياتهم اليومية بكل تفاصيلها الدقيقة بألوانها المتباينة ، زواياها الخفية ،و تمزق أرواحهم بين الغياب والاغتراب...
شيء ما يتوارى وراء جدار الصمت يوخزك ألماً...يباغتك رابطة الصداقة التى قد عقدتها مع جميع الشخصيات بلا استثناء...
تجمعك بهم مشاعر حميمية دافئة ، تراك تنصت لأوجاعهم ، وإلى ذاك الانكسار في نبراتهم...تتملى في ابتسامتهم المتجمدة التي تخشى أن تذوب فتكشف عن ذاك الحزن الدفين بدواخلهم...، ملامح وجوههم التي تأبى أن تلين إلا لما كل ما هو تقليدي ينتمي لموطنهم الأصلي..
ونظراتهم الحائرة التي تبحث عن مكانٍ تلوذ به ذواتهم في أرض غريبة مجهولة....
هنا عندما تشحن ظلك إلى أبعد نقطة بالعالم لانقاذ شيء ما تجهل ماهيته غير أنك تتوق دوماً لروحك التي غادرتها هناك..
عندما تقودك الحياة لمسارات لم تكن لتتوقعها...
عندما تنتظر رسائل الأهل وتفض أغلفتها وتبادر بقراءتها فإذا بدموعك تريق الكلمات ويغدو كل شيء متناهي الصغر لا يسع حنينك الجارف لموطنك...
أخيراً..هنالك أوجاع تفقدك الاحساس بالحياة بأسرها ، وبينما تحاول أن تُلملم الكلمات من هنا وهناك لصياغتها ، تراك عاجزاً عن تقديم تفسيراً لها و تتمنى لو أن هنالك ترجمان للأوجاع يتولى المهمة عنك وبينما تتمسك بطوق النجاة تتساءل :
" أليس هناك ما تقوله..؟ ".....

9 povestiri splendide!

An interesting collection of short stories, mostly concerning the experience of Indian emigrants in America. I do not usually read short stories but I saw many good reviews about this collection and I decided to give it a try. I am glad I did and it made me want to read more short stories in the future. All stories are a little bit bittersweet, some even made my cry.

داستان هایی فوق العاده جذاب و گیرا که در عین سادگی خواننده را محسور خودشان می کنند.کتاب با داستان زندگی یک زوج جوان که فرزند به دنیا نیامده شان را از دست داده اند شروع می شود،با داستان "هوس" و "مترجم درد" ها به اوج خود می رسد و با داستان "سومین و آخرین قاره" به زیبایی به پایان می رسد.احساس در سطر سطر کتاب موج می زند،نه مانند "دوست داشتم کسی جایی منتظرم باشد" آنا گاوالدا خام و نابالغ،بلکه بسیار ریشه دار و به عمل آمده تا آنجا که به راحتی تا عمق وجود خواننده رخنه می کند.


از وفتی که فضانوردان،آن قهرمانان جاودانه جند ساعتی در ماه گذراندند،من سی سال است که در این دنیای نو زندگی می کنم.می دانم دستاورد من کاملا پیش پا افتاده است.من تنها مردی نیستم که در پی سرنوشت خویش از خانه و کاشانه ام دور افتاده ام،و مسلما اولین هم نیستم.هنوز هم گاهی از هر مایلی که مسافرت کرده ام،هر غذایی که خورده ام،هر کسی که شناخته ام و هر اتاقی که در آن خوابیده ام شگفت زده می شوم.با آنکه همه آن چیزها پیش پا افتاده به نظر می رسد،اما زمانی هست که آنها فراسوی قدرت تخیل جلوه می نمایند.(از متن کتاب)

In Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri writes about the human experience across cultures. Most of the short stories include characters of Indian heritage, and all of them delve into the universal emotions of love, loss, grief, and hope. Her prose, while sometimes straightforward and sometimes lyrical, leaves a lot unsaid - in its concision lies its strength, because every word counts. Lahiri works in the perspective of the insider and the outsider, incorporating assimilation, stagnation, and the pros and cons of communication into her writing. The stories, while sharing some similarities, have a wide range of plots: from dysfunctional marriages to upset old ladies to illnesses that can only be cured by a man's love.

Out of all the stories in this collection I had the most massive fanboy freakouts over enjoyed "Interpreter of Maladies" and "Sexy" the most. The former speaks to how we romanticize our relationships and perceive people in certain ways for our own purposes. "Sexy," the latter, exemplifies how we engage in relationships with people we do not really know - it redefined the word "sexy" and articulated so many of my convoluted thoughts with eloquence and precision.

Overall, highly recommended for those who want to read standard-length short stories that explore themes of cultural assimilation and resistance, as well as human emotions such as desire and companionship. I look forward to reading more of Lahiri's work, especially her novel The Namesake.

Interpreter of Maladies was recommended to me by one of my friends who kept harping about the book all the time to an extent that every-time I thought about him it was this book that I would see swimming in front of my eyes.

Okay, so I was not reluctant about reading it but coming from a person who seldom read books, I was just pushing it for later. Having read it now, I am happy I did as Jhumpa is an amazing story-teller and all her short simple tales in this book have got me enchanted.

The 'Namesake' was the first Jhumpa Lahiri novel I'd read and was quite mesmerized by her style of writing. Let me not forget to mention that it was the movie starring 2 of my favorite actors - Tabu & Irfan Khan that I'd watched first whence I came to know about the novel. So, of course I had to read it. And then there was my friend promoting Interpreter of Maladies as though his life depended on it. I started reading it leaving other books still waiting in order to shut him up really.


Now, I love to read books based on Indian Literature exploring Indian names, Indian cities, Indian life-style etc. which Lahiri's novels are abundantly rich with. They give a sense of belonging and I easily relate to them.

Interpreter of Maladies which of course deserved The Pulitzer Award is deeply enthralling with simple but brimming-with-intense-emotions short stories that threaten to remain in your memories for years to come.

Jhumpa's exquisite writing manages to run you through the story as if you were one of the pieces of fiction in the story.

The book is a collection of 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
The Third and Final Continent(My favorite among the nine)

Each story tends to leave a mark in your memory with some or the other insightful message. This piece specifically is beautifully sad, sentimentally intense and one that makes you stop and read it again:
"n  There are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.n"

Jhumpa intricately defines how the characters struggle to maintain a balance between their culture and their newly adopted life-styles in foreign countries. Places, names, food, religion and everything from Indian origin are beautifully described in her books that give the reader a first-hand knowledge about Indian culture and traditions that make Jhumpa a wonderful writer.

As I read it on the back cover of the book "Jhumpa Lahiri is the kind of writer who makes you want to grab the next person you see and say, 'Read this'." I am sure each one of those who have read and traveled through the myriad of experiences in this book agree to it just like I do.

Someone who hasn’t heard about Jhumpa Lahiri’s award winning collection of short stories yet, hasn’t been paying attention. This is the 9.178th review on the book, and I’m the 140.434th Goodreads member to rate it. My review will probably land somewhere on the 30th spot. Not at all because it’s good, but because I was lucky to have found supportive friends, who understand how important it is for a person to get a little attention and to be able to share their experiences with others. We understand each other; reading is a solitary occupation and being able to share that in a group of like-minded people makes it a less solitary experience.
And that’s exactly what these stories are about; the sense of belonging. Feeling that you belong is as important as the need for food, or sleep, or even breathing. It gives value to your life ; finding a supportive community, or having supportive friends, family or neighbors, and being able to be a supportive member of such a community yourself, helps you to find meaning in your life.
The main characters in these stories, all of Indian origin, and most of them migrants in America, struggle with this sense of belonging. The melancholic stories deal with love and loss, marriage and relationships, bonding and fitting in with others, receiving some attention and being valued. Whether you’re rich or poor, married or single, migrant or nonmigrant, sick or healthy, introvert or extrovert, male or female; we all crave belongingness. Jhumpa Lahiri’s emotional stories convey this need brilliantly and won’t leave you unaffected.
So if you push that ‘like’ button, it means much more to me than a position among the 9.179 reviews on this book. In fact, that position is totally irrelevant. What it really means to me is that you’re giving me a real sense of belonging to this community of readers, and a sense of being valued. And I’m immensely grateful to each one of you for that. Belonging is not competing for a ranking, but nevertheless for many people it’s a daily fight. And this book reminded me of the importance of belonging.

This is an excellent book of short stories. I won't forget the first story "A Temporary Matter", it is heartbreaking.

Short stories about the Indian community, both in India and expats in the US. Some non-Indian characters and Americanised Indians give an outsider perspective to balance the more insular stories, but the general themes of love, sex, betrayal, struggle, ostracism etc are universal.

جزو بهترین کتابایی بود که خوندم...نمیدونم شرایط روحی که داشتم تا این حد داستاناش رو واسم جذاب کرده بود یا به خودی خود جذاب بودند...کاش میشد اون بخش از حافظم که خوندن این کتاب‌رو ثبت کرده، پاک میکردم تا دوباره میتونستم اون حسی که خوندنش برای اولین بار داشت رو حس کنم=(

If you are a lover of the short story, you will hug this book. It is a perfect rendition of the form, with characters who are driven by osmosis. No wonder it won the Pulitzer.

There are a lot of things Lahiri does so well that I enjoyed. Things that made me stay with this collection, finishing it in one day. Did she use her stories to inform of the Indian Diaspora, one wonders? Oh no, not fiction writers, they are not supposed to write with some agenda...blah blah. Well if she didn't mean to be so translucent, she surely ended up being just that. And I loved it. The India-Pakistan Partition, Indian immigrant struggles, religion, arranged marriages, economically and socially dependent wives, were all topics explored.

Well hello thematic appeal, why do all collections not abide by you?

The writing is unadorned: terse prose with sporadic use of metaphors. You don't get a weather-man-like one-page description that makes you want to scream, stoppp, just tell me the story already. You get a stark sentence: "the rain had stopped and now the sour smell that rises from wet mango leaves was hanging low over the alley."

The characters don't just have green cards, they have "sixth preference" green cards. They don't just smoke cigarettes, they "smoke Rothmans." They don't just wear shoes, they wear, "black-patent leather mules with heels like golf tees, open toes, and slightly soiled silk labels on the instep where her soles had rested." They don't just experience windy days, they experience a "wind so strong that they had to walk backward." Mrs. Sen didn't just clean fish. She "stroked the tails, prodded the bellies, pried apart the gutted flesh. With a pair of scissors, she clipped the fins. She tucked a finger under the gills, a red so bright they made her vermillion seem pale" (now if you've ever cleaned and gutted fish before, you're smiling slightly at this imagery).

Every word is carefully placed, each character propelled by a journey.

I loved them all but my favorites were:

A Real Durwan- I really liked the mystery of Boori Ma, the woman who always told people about what she had lost after she was deported to Calcutta. Was she really a riches-to-rags woman or a simple stairwell sweeper? Tell me more, please.

Mrs. Sen's--a homesick woman with an aloof husband, takes cares of a young boy with an aloof mother.

When Mr. Pirzada Came To Dine-loved the historical context given through dialogue.

"Mr. Picada is no longer considered Indian," my father announced, brushing salt from the cashews out of his trim black beard. Not since Partition. Our country was divided. 1947."

When I said I thought that was the date of India's independence from Britain, my father said, "That too. One moment we were free and then we were sliced up, " he explained, drawing an X with his finger on the countertop, "like a pie. Hindus here, Muslims there. Dacca no longer belongs to us."

You know a book's good when someone asks you for a synopsis, or snippet, or impression, and all you can do is smile there, enveloped in some subtle magic that only you know about, & kinda forget what it, the book, was all about altogether. This happened with "Interpreter of Maladies", a perfectly-titled collection of short stories about Indian Americans in India or in the U.S. Their ages & experiences range from children to marrieds to 103 year-olds, from tourism in the old world to the natural assimilation to a new one.

The first story makes me shiver just thinking about it--I made my students read it as an example of the perfect short story. & the last one encapsulates the author's overall thesis perfectly. It's all a masterpiece. A privilege to read.