Monday, September 1, 2008

Initial Response

Did you like Interpreter of Maladies? Why or why not? What specifically did you like or dislike? What did you find most interesting about the book?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

it was ok as far as reqired reading goes.Well written but not of a topic i found paticularly interesting.It had this whole sad kind of lie-sucks-and-theres-nothing-u-can-do-about-it theme that didint really make u wanna keep reading it.

Anonymous said...

the book is really interesting. i think that it was trying to portray a lesson about communication and relationships. if there is no communication, the relationship on both ends suffer and everything that could have been worked out fails.

Anonymous said...

I really liked Interpreter of Maladies. What I found to be especially interesting was the way the book was formatted. The first story showed a marriage that was done out of love but that fell apart through a lack of communication, while the last story involved an arranged marriage that ended in love and was successful. I felt that the novel was also trying to show that you need to make allowances with your spouse in order to keep everything smooth, as well.

Anonymous said...

I didn't read the whole book yet but i did read what we needed to read and so far, I found it pretty interesting. For "A Temporary Matter," it shows how without communcation between one another a marriage can not last and I couldn't agree with her anymore.I believe that in a situation like that, you should let you spouse know your feelings instead of keeping it inside.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed Interpreter of Maladies because each short story highlighted a different aspect of life as an Indian immigrant. Each story was somehow related to the next and they all had some sort of parting message about people and relationships. I especially liked Sexy because it shows both sides of how an affair negatively affects everyone involved.

Anonymous said...

I actually really like this book. I usually dont like "required reading" books but this one was pretty ok. I think that one of the reasons why I liked it alot was because it was about a culture different very different from my own and yet similar issues can apply. All the characters in one way or another were seeking love from someone in each of the short stories. They were trying to obtain this love by overcoming all of the obstacles put in their way such as secrecy, lack of communication, unfortunate events, arranged marriage and several others. All in all, I really enjoyed this book and most of all I enjoyed the authenticity of the characters in this book.

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Anonymous said...

i really enjoyed this book and have actually recommended it to other people. i felt it really showed inside people and how we can become so self centered and mistrusting and also how we can use even little things to bring us together, with a little work. i didnt find it so much depressing as i found myself feeling sorry for these people, connecting with them, and even though they weren't really happening, learning from their maladies.

Anonymous said...

Some stories i rally liked and others i really hated. But the first story is one i thought about alot, and there was something that came to me about it. The darkness that the 2 use to communicate, mainly shukumar, relates to how ppl in our days use texting or instant messaging to communicate. The problem with that was after getting use to the darkness they were unable to communicate without darkness.

Anonymous said...

Interpreter of Maladies was one of the few assigned readings that I found interesting. Jhumpa Lahiri has a certain way of writing that keeps a reader interested. Interpreter of Maladies explores common/realistic issues, mainly marriage and adapting to certain enviornment which connect the reader on a personal level. Lahiri brings to light that the struggles of the characters (even though they are immigrants) are similar to those of Americans or any other nations. Its a piece of literature that we can relate to our daily lives.

Anonymous said...

i found this book quite interesting. well out of a 10, i'd rate it a 7. reasons i liked it is because 1- i have an indian background so i can relate to almost everything lahiri mentioned. (arranged marraiges, absence of love due to arranged marraiges, and immigration, how adults dread it)
2- lahiri did, however write these stories in a modern world for indians, especially indian girls. whereas before, girls did not have much rights at all, and in these stories (a temporary matter for ex) the girl thinks about moving to another apt. this shows she's trying to be independent. in most indian stories, you don't see that. so its interesting reading something that shows girls are capable of doing such, atleast in india.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed reading this collection of short stories. I felt that the book really showed how the human character really is. It showed how marrige can both be full of love and how it can full of regret and dishonesty. I enjoyed reading the many stories of how Indian immigrants came to America for a better life becuase is that not what America has done for centuries. While many of the stories were very depressing that did not take away from the quality of the stories and the entertainment. The book showed the realities of life even if they are not always things we want to hear. While depressing i really liked the book and enjoyed reading it.

Anonymous said...

i liked the book but it wasn't my favorite. some of the stories were interesting but the others, to me were boring. i liked the book because i could relate to the book alot. when i was reading it, i realized that some of the things stated in the book did happen in my life.

Anonymous said...

I didn't really like the book as a whole. If I wasn't supposed to read it, I don't think I would've continued to after the first few stories. I think the stories themselves are decent and their themes are interesting. If I had to pick one I'd say it'd be between Interpreter of Maladies and When Mr. Pirzada came. I just think the style of writing is really dull and it didn't make me want to keep reading. I also felt like each story didn't have much of an ending, but maybe that was the point.

Anonymous said...

I really like the fact that it's real and honest. It's not the typical "and they lived happily ever after" type of book. It shows what real marriage is like. It shows that there can be problems and hardships sometimes and that it takes work to make a good, happy marriage. However, marriage isn't always like that, there are good times too, so I don't really think there's a good balance in this book. It pretty much focuses only on marriages in times of difficulty. As with anything else, marriage has its good parts and its bad. I don't understand why there are books that make it sound so perfect and books like this that make it sound so depressing. I'm still waiting to find a book that portrays the ups and the downs.