Books: Interpreter of Maladies

A Temporary Matter
When Mr. Pirzada came to dine
Interpreter of maladies
A real Durwan
Sexy
Mrs. Sen’s
This blessed house
The treatment of Bibi Haldar
The third and the final continent

My favorite story is Mrs. Sen's. The author writes with such simple yet elegant choice of language, descriptive yet cool with detached emotions. The pages are full of sensual details of Indian culture, tantalizing every sense. I could imagine myself at the center of action, the spice markets' array of colorful and effortlessly coordinated spice display, large blades being sharpened, loud laughter and chattering of the women who sat in a circle on the rooftop, chopping 50 kilos of vegetables into the night, the flapping sound of a fish struggling about in a bucket, next to it a sleepy shop keeper smoking a cigarettes and listening to the crackling sound from an old radio, and yum… delicious scent from every house in the evening. It made me terribly homesick even.

The author did such a great job depicting the life in Calcutta, India, it was no wonder that the main character, Mrs. Sen misses home so much, and being alone in a strange American town with a husband who is working almost all the time further propels her into deeper desperation and loneliness. The story was told from an 11-year-old Caucasian boy’s point of view. An excellent choice, I must say. Everything was seen, heard, touched and experienced by Eliot, yet the life experience of an 11-year-olds living in the American suburbs and the interpretations he arrives only seem to be widening the gap between Mrs. Sen and her new perfect world. Sadly it will never change.