Interpreter of Maladies Analysis

There are nine stories in Interpreter of Maladies, but Lahiri makes it pretty easy for us when it comes to the setting because she's really only interested in two places: India and America (more sp...

With the exception of three stories, this book's all about showing how limited our main characters are through their third person narrators.And by limited, we mean flawed. Deeply flawed. Like Shuku...

Imagine that your whole life is about your home. Imagine that's your life because you're from an immigrant family (or a family with immigrant roots) living in sub/urban America. Of course you're go...

Elegiac, or "You can't always get what you want"Prepare a box of Kleenex because, even though there are nine different narrators in the book, they all have—at some point—a mournful quality to t...

Measured, or "Step by step"If Interpreter of Maladies were music, it would most definitely be Mozart –clear, structured and measured. Things happen only after careful exposition, like the movemen...

Here's a case where we actually know the exact origins of the title. Lahiri chose the title because of a friend of hers who worked as an interpreter in a doctor's office in Brookline, Massachusetts...

Until the final story, we've gotta say the stories have more than their share of disillusionment and despair. You have characters losing babies, being separated from their families, being rejected,...

We're giving this book a middling score on toughness because Lahiri's writing really isn't all that complicated. Sure, she can be really subtle and, if you're not careful, you might miss details th...

If you've ever made a playlist on your iPod, then you'll get this analysis right away. A great playlist has a flow to it; there's a reason why you place a song in a certain spot on the list. Well,...

Each story of the collection might fall under a different category, but overall? Our vote is for "rebirth" because that's kind of what you go through if you treat the stories in the book like cha...

For a story that fits the "three act plot analysis," look no further than the title story of the book.Mr. Kapasi thinks Mr. and Mrs. Das are typical American tourists in Indian bodies. Mrs. Das esp...

Did you know that "The Third and Final Continent," the last story in Interpreter of Maladies, is based on Lahiri's father? (Source)What if you were named "Rattle"? Because that's kind of what Jhump...

We're giving the whole collection of stories a PG-13, even though most of the stories are pretty PG-rated. But, you know, when you've got one story titled "Sexy" and it's all about an affair betwee...

Mahler's Fifth Symphony (TBH 29) Madhuri Dixit(S 63)Biblical ReferencesThe sacrificial lamb (ATM 4)The Immaculate Conception (ATM 102), (TBH 50-52)Jesus Christ/Virgin Mary/Christianity (These refer...