Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahari

Clues to describe this book: Infidelity, Parent / Child Relationships, American Dream / Nightmare, Religion and Tradition

Review: This was the first book I ever read from Jhumpa Lahari. I typically don’t read short stories, but after hearing the great reviews and seeing that she won a Pulitzer prize, I couldn’t resist. After reading this book, she became one of my favorite all-time authors. This book puts you on an emotional roller coaster and is extremely heartbreaking. My favorite short stories from this collection are When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine, Interpreter of Maladies, and Sexy. All these short stories peek into the lives of immigrants adjusting to a new world or entering new chapters in their lives and focuses specifically on Indian Bengali culture. Each short story is well written and the characters are well developed. Some of the stories were a bit too depressing for my taste, but they were written so eloquently that you can’t help but have it resonate with you. Overall, I found this to be a wonderful read. I would definitely recommend this if you are interested in reading more South Asian stories.