Play Book Tag discussion

It took me until about halfway through the stories, which I read a couple at a time, fully to appreciate the beauty and complexity of each one and the collection as a whole. I am no stranger to reading short stories, something I enjoy reading as I transition from one book to another or even as a way to find new authors, especially in genre fiction.

The stories are all addressing the displacement of Bengalis, those from the northeastern most region of India and now bordering on Bangladesh. That they are Bengalis is particularly important as they are particularly adrift in the world, without a clear anchor to culture and country as a result of the Partition of India in 1947 after the end of British colonialization and the resulting violence against and dispossession of millions. The maladies that the writer (the interpretor) is examining (interpreting) here are nothing less than ...the dilemma, the difficulty, and often the impossibliity of communicating the emotional pain and affliction to others, as well as expressing it to ourselves. of those displaced from their ancestry.

There are 9 stories here, most under 20 pages:

A Temporary Matter - during a nightly repair blackout, over a candlelit dinner, a young married couple attempt to communicate for the first time after a traumatic loss

When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine - a Bengali on sabbatical in US to research and write when violence erupts in Dacca during Partition, spends evenings with an Indian-American family.

Interpreter of Maladies - from which title of collection taken - a weekend tour guide, who earns a living translating for Gujurati patients and their doctor, interacts with an American couple whose parents have returned to India in retirement.

A Real Durwan - one of the few actually set in India, Boori Ma who is a Bengali displaced by Partition, serves as the unofficial durwan (concierge) of an apartment building, as more change ultimately shakes up the established order.

Sexy - the story of 2 affairs between Indian men and white women.

Mrs. Sen's - an Indian wife's loneliness and trouble assimilating

This Blessed House - A successful young immigrant copes with marriage and the concessions that need to be made, wishes of another to be accepted.

The Treatment of Bibi Haldar - another one set in India about a young woman with a mysterious illness.

The Third and Final Continent - the perfect final story to this collection, about a young man who leave India for London to go to school, then takes a job in the US where he brings his Indian wife and raises a family.

While aware of this collection for some time, it did not join my TBR until after I read The Namesake a couple of years ago. Frankly, it was not until I both accummulated a number of friends from the Indian diaspora (referred to in India as Non-Resident Indian (NRI)) and traveled to India that I had much interest at all in India, its culture, history, and immigrants, and started reading books written by NRI and addressing the struggles of immigrants. In truth, it's little different from asian, or any other. What enriches and distinguishes the stories are the elements of the culture and traditions that all struggle to incorporate into their new lives and pass on to the next generations. But the emotional territory is much the same.

Each is a perfectly crafted, beautifully balanced and written story, fitting together nicely, but to be read and admired individually.

Theresa ... great review.

Have you read Shauna Singh Baldwin's What the Body Remembers? I think you would really appreciate it.

Thanks, BC. I don't know that one.. on the TBR it has gone!