Interpreter of Maladies

By: Jhumpa Lahiri

Narrated by: Matilda Novak

Pulitzer Prize, Fiction, 2000

With accomplished precision and gentle eloquence, Jhumpa Lahiri traces the crosscurrents set in motion when immigrants, expatriates, and their children arrive, quite literally, at a cultural divide. The nine stories in this stunning debut collection unerringly chart the emotional journeys of characters seeking love beyond the barriers of nations and generations.

A blackout forces a young Indian American couple to make confessions that unravel their tattered domestic peace. An Indian-American girl recognizes her cultural identity during a Halloween celebration while the Pakastani civil war rages on television in the background. A latchkey kid with a single working mother finds affinity with a woman from Calcutta. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession.

Imbued with the sensual details of Indian culture, these stories speak with passion and wisdom to everyone who has ever felt like a foreigner. Like the interpreter of the title story, Lahiri translates between the strict traditions of her ancestors and a baffling new world.

©2000 Jhumpa Lahiri (P)2000 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"Moving and authoritative pictures of culture shock and displaced identity." (Kirkus Reviews)
"The crystalline writing in the nine stories of this Pulitzer Prize-winning debut collection dazzles. These sensitive explorations of the lives of Indian immigrants and expatriates touch on universal themes, making them at once specific and broad in their appeal. Narrator Matilda Novak's light voice is fine for stories written by a young woman, and the hint of melody in her reading is typical of Indian voices." (AudioFile)

Excellent book

Jumpa Lahiri is a talented and sensitive author.
I loved this book. Each story is a gem.

Enjoyable

Lahiri's series of stories about Bengali immigrant life in America is touching and enjoyable. Novak's nicely read the book.

Great stories. Great performance. Interesting audio mixing.

The story and performance were excellent. However, the audio mixing was weird/ confusing. The chapters were not each one story but rather randomly placed in the middle of stories with confusing guitar Interludes that didn’t seem to serve any function. That said the stories were very good as was the narrator.

Could not get through the narration

Great writing but the tone of the narrator does not match the narrative. Will have to try in print.

Great book, very bad narration

The book is very good but the story is really lost in the very poor narration. Unfortunately, it really ruins the experience. I don’t recommend listening to this.