Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies
Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of 9 stories. They were written by an American author with Indian descent named Jhumpa Lahiri. She is a very accomplished author, and this is widely considered some of her best work. As a person of Indian descent, Jhumpa herself faced issues having to do with identity and her place in the world around her. She was born in London, but was raised in Rhode Island. Similarly, her stories take place in India, and in America, specifically New England, where the author was raised. The story was written in 1999 and takes place in the present day, but the stories are centered around longing, and loneliness. The stories deal with Indian Americans who are stuck between their roots and their new lives in the “New World”. Immigrants from all over the world deal with these issues today, and in novels we’ve already read, as well as this one we see their individual struggles highlighted.