The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Finally, the perseverance paid off. I have been trying to read some “real” as opposed to kindle format, books from a collection I have.
There have been a number of misfires, ever since my Kindle broke down. I had everything there: what I was reading and supposed to read for the next century or so. And it went nearly blank: you could still read the upper half of the page, but the lower side of the kindle is a kind of Pollock or is it a Mondrian drawing.
I still have the Kindle program in my Samsung Note, which fortunately has a decent size…the reason it was selected, but not as large as a Kindle.
Picking up books from my bookcases is an interesting enterprise, but the Good and the great have been read. The adventure into new, post modern territory is not such a fabulous ride for a conservative type like me.
But the Interpreter of Maladies is a great story. Mr. Kapasi is the interpreter who is also a guide; he needs two jobs to make ends meet.
I felt empathy for him. I had been an interpreter and guide, like Mr. Kapasi.
His specialty though is much rarer: people come to a doctor and Mr. Kapasi interprets their maladies. In India, there are many languages, and the situations where the doctor does not understand his patients’ language are frequent.
It is crucial that nothing is Lost In Translation. Mister Kapasi finds himself in an awkward position: Mrs. Das, his client is very appreciative of his abilities; he falls for her, but instead of a romantic rapprochement. Mrs. Das starts sharing her secrets.
One of them is dark in particular and I will not divulge it, you should read the story, it will come as a surprise.
Jhumpa Lahiri is well known and acclaimed in the literary world, but, until last week her name meant nothing to me. I am very happy that her book fell into my lap, because I enjoyed it.
I am not sure about her style of writing, if it is modern, or post –modern...to me it seemed classic. The characters and the stories are simple, yet we grow fond of these Indian people who sometimes eat strange foods, have exotique tastes, although some of the more strident differences have been mellowed out by the geography of the stories- many personages come from India, if not most, but they are raised, if not born as a second generation in America.
Women seem to be educated, modern and emancipated, but not always, there are situations when the Indian wife doesn’t drive and the story revolves around that…Mrs. Sen, who commits an accident, because some of her ways represent the old, traditional Indian culture and driving, is alien to her. But that is a different story, called Mrs. Sen, included in the collection of short stories named Interpret de Maladii, in my country printed by Univers.
Some of my own stories (and reviews) are at
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