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Interpreter of Maladies / The Namesake
Jhumpa Lahiri took the literary world by storm when her debut collection, Interpreter of Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000. The collection was followed by her best-selling and critically acclaimed novel The Namesake—a finely wrought, deeply moving family drama. Presenting these works together here, this edition displays Lahiri’s enormous talent as a storyteller.
528 pages, Hardcover
Published November 15, 2010
73 people are currently reading
3156 people want to read
About the author
Jhumpa Lahiri
105 books14.4k followersNilanjana Sudeshna "Jhumpa" Lahiri is a British-American author known for her short stories, novels, and essays in English and, more recently, in Italian.
Her debut collection of short-stories, Interpreter of Maladies (1999), won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award, and her first novel, The Namesake (2003), was adapted into the popular film of the same name. The Namesake was a New York Times Notable Book, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist and was made into a major motion picture.
Unaccustomed Earth (2008) won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, while her second novel, The Lowland (2013) was a finalist for both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award for Fiction.
On January 22, 2015, Lahiri won the US$50,000 DSC Prize for Literature for The Lowland. In these works, Lahiri explored the Indian-immigrant experience in America.
In 2012, Lahiri moved to Rome, Italy and has since then published two books of essays, and began writing in Italian, first with the 2018 novel Dove mi trovo, then with her 2023 collection Roman Stories. She also compiled, edited, and translated the Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories which consists of 40 Italian short stories written by 40 different Italian writers. She has also translated some of her own writings and those of other authors from Italian into English.
In 2014, Lahiri was awarded the National Humanities Medal. She was a professor of creative writing at Princeton University from 2015 to 2022. In 2022, she became the Millicent C. McIntosh Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at her alma mater, Barnard College of Columbia University.
Her debut collection of short-stories, Interpreter of Maladies (1999), won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award, and her first novel, The Namesake (2003), was adapted into the popular film of the same name. The Namesake was a New York Times Notable Book, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist and was made into a major motion picture.
Unaccustomed Earth (2008) won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, while her second novel, The Lowland (2013) was a finalist for both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award for Fiction.
On January 22, 2015, Lahiri won the US$50,000 DSC Prize for Literature for The Lowland. In these works, Lahiri explored the Indian-immigrant experience in America.
In 2012, Lahiri moved to Rome, Italy and has since then published two books of essays, and began writing in Italian, first with the 2018 novel Dove mi trovo, then with her 2023 collection Roman Stories. She also compiled, edited, and translated the Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories which consists of 40 Italian short stories written by 40 different Italian writers. She has also translated some of her own writings and those of other authors from Italian into English.
In 2014, Lahiri was awarded the National Humanities Medal. She was a professor of creative writing at Princeton University from 2015 to 2022. In 2022, she became the Millicent C. McIntosh Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at her alma mater, Barnard College of Columbia University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
August 17, 2013
"Miranda folded her arms across her chest and looked Rohin in the eyes. 'Tell me something.'
He was silent.
'What does it mean?'
'What?'
'That word. "Sexy." What does it mean?'
He looked down, suddenly shy. 'I can't tell you.'
'Why not?'
'It's a secret.' He pressed his lips together, so hard that a bit of them went white.
'Tell me the secret. I want to know.'
Rohin sat on the bed beside Miranda and began to kick the edge of the mattress with the backs of his shoes. He giggled nervously, his thin body flinching as if it were being tickled.
'Tell me,' Miranda demanded. She leaned over and gripped his ankles, holding his feet still.
Rohin looked at her, his eyes like slits. He struggled to kick the mattress again, but Miranda pressed against him. He fell back on the bed, his back straight as a board. He cupped his hands around his mouth, and then he whispered, 'It means loving someone you don't know.'"
He was silent.
'What does it mean?'
'What?'
'That word. "Sexy." What does it mean?'
He looked down, suddenly shy. 'I can't tell you.'
'Why not?'
'It's a secret.' He pressed his lips together, so hard that a bit of them went white.
'Tell me the secret. I want to know.'
Rohin sat on the bed beside Miranda and began to kick the edge of the mattress with the backs of his shoes. He giggled nervously, his thin body flinching as if it were being tickled.
'Tell me,' Miranda demanded. She leaned over and gripped his ankles, holding his feet still.
Rohin looked at her, his eyes like slits. He struggled to kick the mattress again, but Miranda pressed against him. He fell back on the bed, his back straight as a board. He cupped his hands around his mouth, and then he whispered, 'It means loving someone you don't know.'"
August 31, 2012
I'll be honest: didn't like Interpreter of Maladies on the first-go. I had read The Namesake first and was spoiled by the experience. When I went to Interpreter I couldn't get through it because it felt like I was being cheated, given the window display when I knew that there was more behind the counter. I had that knowledge because I had read a full-length, in depth display of the author's narrative power. As the old adage goes in programming: the end-user is an idiot and that idiot was me. The problem was not with the writer but with the reader's expectation of the form: novel versus short story. Here is an example of the two forms set in stark contrast: a filet mignon against a steak. I did return to Interpreter and reread it and did enjoy, but I prefer Lahiri the novelist to the short story writer. I enjoyed The Namesake because I felt the journey motif which is common to all cultures is what made the novel far superior to the short stories, which felt like sketches on ethnic culture in much the same way that the short stories from writers, like Aleichem, Babel, and Singer gave us insights into a different culture. I still prefer The Namesake. I would also recommend Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia.
May 27, 2020
A collection of short stories which focus on people, relationships and in some cases community. The writing style reminded me of Murakami minus the magical realism.
June 1, 2023
Excellent collection of short stories about young Indian families and single folks making a way in USA and most of which take place in my old stomping grounds and hometown, Greater Boston and Cambridge. I felt like I remembered some of these people from work or college and it was good to reconnect again.
February 6, 2022
Writing this review almost a year after I finished the collection, I'm embarrassed to say that I remember very little except for the fact that I absolutely loved every single story.
June 3, 2021
This book fit the genre of Contemporary Classic written by BIPOC. It is a collection of short stories about Indians--some in the US and some in India. Some old, some young, some young but have been through so much that they are old.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved so many of the stories, and felt like any of them could be random people that I would interact with.
My favorite stories were: A Temporary Matter, Interpreter of Maladies, Sexy, and The Treatment of Bibi Haldar.
Lahiri's style is gentle and yet prodding, engaging readers and drawing them into the world of her characters.
There was only one negative comment that I have and it is not enough to drop the rating by a star. But I didn't really like the ending of the last story, The Third and Final Continent. All the stories are told in standard "mountain" style, with rising action, climax and falling action. But the last story ends with this synopsis-like, somewhat cheesy few paragraphs, and it just doesn't fit with the style or quality of the rest of the stories, or even the very story that it ends.
But all in all, thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'll be thinking about it for a while.
5/5 highly recommend for anyone who likes a great read.
Edited to add: I did not read The Namesake. I could not find an entry on Goodreads for just that book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved so many of the stories, and felt like any of them could be random people that I would interact with.
My favorite stories were: A Temporary Matter, Interpreter of Maladies, Sexy, and The Treatment of Bibi Haldar.
Lahiri's style is gentle and yet prodding, engaging readers and drawing them into the world of her characters.
There was only one negative comment that I have and it is not enough to drop the rating by a star. But I didn't really like the ending of the last story, The Third and Final Continent. All the stories are told in standard "mountain" style, with rising action, climax and falling action. But the last story ends with this synopsis-like, somewhat cheesy few paragraphs, and it just doesn't fit with the style or quality of the rest of the stories, or even the very story that it ends.
But all in all, thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'll be thinking about it for a while.
5/5 highly recommend for anyone who likes a great read.
Edited to add: I did not read The Namesake. I could not find an entry on Goodreads for just that book.
December 12, 2012
I can't honestly say enough about this book, Jhumpa Lahiri, or her ability to gently tell stories that don't change your life, but make you feel part of a giant, overwhelming world. Her prose is perfect. Her sentence structure flawless. She is my literary idol and I am anxious for her to write something new. Nothing about her writing will make you stay up past midnight trying to get to the end and it's this very kind pacing that I appreciate most. Her characters are real people who are relatable and tangible and complex...just like me.
June 12, 2023
One of my all-time favorite books / authors.
May 3, 2022
The story "Interpreter of Maladies" is about an Indian tour guide who communicates with a client, a woman who tells a shameful secret from her past.
The laconic style and deep psychologism of Jumpa Lahiri depicts the inner world of the characters. The subtle humour of seemingly insignificant events in the life of ordinary people acquire a deep meaning.
The story is included in the debut book of Jhumpa Lahiri. This book won the Pulitzer Prize.
Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/jhump...
The laconic style and deep psychologism of Jumpa Lahiri depicts the inner world of the characters. The subtle humour of seemingly insignificant events in the life of ordinary people acquire a deep meaning.
The story is included in the debut book of Jhumpa Lahiri. This book won the Pulitzer Prize.
Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/jhump...
June 6, 2024
Loved the narrations. Each story flowed with simplistic magic that is nuanced to create.
Read
September 30, 2020I loved the pace of these stories, never rushed, always with space to unfold the story. The stories are more beautiful for the pacing.
June 21, 2025
generally I'm not a fan of short stories but this was a nice collection. the thread of culture and identity did well to tie the stories together while they are each uniquely their own.
August 24, 2023
Late to the club but what a fan of Jhumpa Lahiri's writing- gosh!
March 12, 2022
Beautiful writings: powerful, soulful, original yet known at the same time. Each story speaks of the immigrant experience - hard work and humility, which is beautifully intertwined with basic human experiences of frailties, fears and failures.
January 6, 2021
I'm giving a perfect rating to a book after quite some time, and this one did indeed touch all the right chords. The stories are utterly human, with the intricacies of relationships beautifully captured from a point of view that is of an impartial fly on the wall. Each story reads better than the other and leaves the reader with a lasting feeling of empathy without overdoing the sentimentality.
Lahiri leaves it to us to interpret her interpreters of maladies, not once seeming distant from them.
Lahiri leaves it to us to interpret her interpreters of maladies, not once seeming distant from them.
March 14, 2012
I really liked the short stories and it's a wonderful collection, excellent reading. As for the namesake, it's a delight to read this novel, story about immigration and clash between two cultures....A son that has an identity crisis"ABCD" American Born Confused Desis. His parents clings to their Ethnic Background and traditions.
September 4, 2013
I read just The Interpreter of Maladies... So beautifully written. Reminded me of Olive Kitteridge with its little glimpses of humanity and the funny/sad things that happen everyday. One of those rare books that I wanted to read as slowly as possible so that it would last longer.
December 15, 2013
My niece, a 27-yr old science girl, asked me for a book for Christmas. I was moved. Yesterday I walked to a brick and mortar bookstore near my house and lovingly purchased Interpreter of Maladies for her. Thumbing through the stories before wrapping, I am overtaken again by the book's beauty.
September 10, 2019
So good. Lahiri's prose brought a whole new world to life for me in a way that made it my own. I am so glad I read this book.
August 31, 2016
I really liked her poetic writing style. It was lovely reading it :)
November 30, 2021
This might be the first academic reading in so many years that I actually enjoyed or liked. I was tasked with an assignment that required me to write a one-thousand-worded critical essay on a published short story from a list. Naturally, I decided to look into the ones written by minor ethnicities, out of curiosity and to avoid reading more white-washed mainstream content. I did not think I would find the story about 'The Treatment of Bibi Haldar' on the list. I picked it up for its desi origins and the sense of familiarity I thought I would find in it.
But after reading that singular short story, I thought to dive into the whole collection.
A single short story had me curious enough to want to read the rest, and heartbreakingly, I obliged. I remember reading that one story and crying as I got to the end, actually crying. That might have been the first time in a long time I had cried because of a story. I was overwhelmed with a sense of pity, sorrow, guilt and rage for what Bibi endured throughout the whole narrative. I had found the protagonist irritating at the start, but accepted her for it, and as I reached the end, I wanted to hurt other characters for her and demand that the author rewrote the ending.
This collection of short stories is emotional and complex without putting much effort to be that. I liked reading them, no matter how painful it felt to flip through the pages. I will most likely be returning to this anthology in the future, especially as I carry it with me and think about it frequently.
I highly recommend this creative writing collection to everyone and anyone.
But after reading that singular short story, I thought to dive into the whole collection.
A single short story had me curious enough to want to read the rest, and heartbreakingly, I obliged. I remember reading that one story and crying as I got to the end, actually crying. That might have been the first time in a long time I had cried because of a story. I was overwhelmed with a sense of pity, sorrow, guilt and rage for what Bibi endured throughout the whole narrative. I had found the protagonist irritating at the start, but accepted her for it, and as I reached the end, I wanted to hurt other characters for her and demand that the author rewrote the ending.
This collection of short stories is emotional and complex without putting much effort to be that. I liked reading them, no matter how painful it felt to flip through the pages. I will most likely be returning to this anthology in the future, especially as I carry it with me and think about it frequently.
I highly recommend this creative writing collection to everyone and anyone.
May 5, 2023
Interpreter of Maladies
:
The uniqueness of Lahiri's collection of stories resides in its acute examination of cultural identity and the relationships between cultures. She gives readers great insight into the lives of immigrants, both young and old, some of them couples and others on their own. The stories are varied in their settings, from Lahiri’s native India to her years in America. The characters often face personal choices that will define their ability to gain a sense of self. Lahiri is able to unearth the complex sources that bring about conflict and separation. She takes what appears subtle and finds deep-rooted issues that must be addressed in order to gain understanding. With her use of incredibly fluid prose, this is a powerful and engrossing set of stories.
The Namesake :
The Ganguli family are Indian immigrants whose experiences reflect their torn and ambivalent feelings between their cultural heritage and the forces of American assimilation. The story focuses primarily on the life of young Gogol Ganguli as he seeks out his identity and purpose in life. Lahiri provides clear slices of Gogol’s life, charting his high and low points with love, work, and family relations. With steady pacing, Lahiri details Gogol’s deepening emotions and how they affect his decisions. Lahiri develops characters as well as any contemporary writer, but although The Namesake does not necessarily match the sheer power of Interpreter of Maladies, the precise and exquisite prose that has become Lahiri’s hallmark elevates the storytelling and makes for a strong novel.
The uniqueness of Lahiri's collection of stories resides in its acute examination of cultural identity and the relationships between cultures. She gives readers great insight into the lives of immigrants, both young and old, some of them couples and others on their own. The stories are varied in their settings, from Lahiri’s native India to her years in America. The characters often face personal choices that will define their ability to gain a sense of self. Lahiri is able to unearth the complex sources that bring about conflict and separation. She takes what appears subtle and finds deep-rooted issues that must be addressed in order to gain understanding. With her use of incredibly fluid prose, this is a powerful and engrossing set of stories.
The Namesake :
The Ganguli family are Indian immigrants whose experiences reflect their torn and ambivalent feelings between their cultural heritage and the forces of American assimilation. The story focuses primarily on the life of young Gogol Ganguli as he seeks out his identity and purpose in life. Lahiri provides clear slices of Gogol’s life, charting his high and low points with love, work, and family relations. With steady pacing, Lahiri details Gogol’s deepening emotions and how they affect his decisions. Lahiri develops characters as well as any contemporary writer, but although The Namesake does not necessarily match the sheer power of Interpreter of Maladies, the precise and exquisite prose that has become Lahiri’s hallmark elevates the storytelling and makes for a strong novel.
April 18, 2020
This was my first book by Jhumpa Lahiri, and I'm in love with her writing. No need to mention about the beauty of her writing; nothing specifically attracting, yet the prose seem to be in a perfect sync.
The stories deal with Indians living abroad. You get to see a spectrum of cultural and social differences among the characters, but what I found most intriguing is the way in which these distinctions get blurred from the perspective of a migrant living abroad. The religious, cultural and social identities we all subscribe to tend to get faded once you step out of your cocoons.
In one instance, there's this description of a newly wed Indian bride with her saree draped over her head talking to a conservative and aged American woman from the 1860s. Nothing could be so widely separated in space and time and yet find a sort of connection: a human connection, and that's the only absolute category we all fit into.
The stories deal with Indians living abroad. You get to see a spectrum of cultural and social differences among the characters, but what I found most intriguing is the way in which these distinctions get blurred from the perspective of a migrant living abroad. The religious, cultural and social identities we all subscribe to tend to get faded once you step out of your cocoons.
In one instance, there's this description of a newly wed Indian bride with her saree draped over her head talking to a conservative and aged American woman from the 1860s. Nothing could be so widely separated in space and time and yet find a sort of connection: a human connection, and that's the only absolute category we all fit into.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2020
Great stories with a range of perspectives. First time I read this book I read through the entire thing from beginning to end, but now I will still pick it up from time to time and read one short story at a time.
I think a major strength of the book is the way that each story is told from a single characters perspective and even if the character doesn't fully understand everything that is going on, the reader can draw conclusions from the context clues from the other characters.
I think a major strength of the book is the way that each story is told from a single characters perspective and even if the character doesn't fully understand everything that is going on, the reader can draw conclusions from the context clues from the other characters.
January 9, 2022
This is a collection of short stories written from several points of view of Indians and Indian Americans. Although a few of the stories had a hopeful trajectory many reminded me of the Paul Simon song. So any of the people appeared to be "gliding down the highway" but were, in fact, slip slidin' away. Some were memorable. Others I forgot by the time I had read the next story in the book. in general I came away from this book with a mild feeling of sadness.
July 5, 2023
Pulitzer Prize winning collection of 9-short stories. Maladies. Misunderstandings. Misfit. Melancholy. Migrant. These alliterations give partial insight into the various characters and their (mis?)adventures in life. I was delighted to learn just a tad about Bengali, Indian, and Pakistani issues (in particular, the Partition), but it is the characters and the challenges they face that are most satisfying.
July 5, 2023
I actually really liked this book and admire the writing. I haven't read a book like this with separate unrelated short stories so it was a different read for me but I preferred it because it wasn't long continuous content but rather new stories with different lessons and contexts. Each story was really interesting and had hidden interpretations of culture, family, immigration etc and the last page was a very meaningful end.
October 16, 2018
An incredibly elegant set of portraits of Indian people living in the US. Each story is charming and immediately draws you into a little universe of ordinary people trying to live their lifes, perched between the traditions of the country they hail from and the fluid mores of the country they live in.
January 7, 2019
As the author's first book, it's very different from her subsequent
books. These short stories shows different perspectives
for various scenarios. For example, the title's short story relates to different ways of looking at a job. Another one deals with loneliness in an unorthodox way.
Ms Lahiri won a Pulitzer Prize for this book.
books. These short stories shows different perspectives
for various scenarios. For example, the title's short story relates to different ways of looking at a job. Another one deals with loneliness in an unorthodox way.
Ms Lahiri won a Pulitzer Prize for this book.
July 18, 2020
Beautiful collection of short stories - I was captivated by all the stories and although I didn't want any of them to end, I felt satisfied when they did. "Still, 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."
Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews