Despite the segregation of the book into multiple separate stories, I think they make a beautifully unified collection. Although the stories center around Indian and Indian-American communities and culture, the themes explored are universal: love, loss, life and death.

The book was easy to read, yet it was very satisfying and I couldn't stop turning the page. This is truly elegant story-telling that tugged at both my heart and my mind. "Interpreter of Maladies" was the first Jhumpa Lahiri book I read. It certainly won't be my last!

Just a wonderful read. I read this book when it first published and just revisited the stories again to reconnect with Jhumpa's gift of prose that inspires.

Well done.

Magnificent. Each of the stories in this collection is like a song that closes with an unresolved chord progression. The empty spaces on the page tell you the story's over, but you aren't really convinced. Only the silence after makes it clear that the narrative has ended. These endings are neither messy nor neatly packaged. This collection left my ears aching for the silence to end, and for the next song to begin.

This book will startle you to attention like a delicious drink that goes down easy and then takes over your whole mouth and makes your body tingle. It's delicious. Each story is a completely different mindset and world. Plus, it's set in the Boston area. They are stories of people with Indian descent and their struggles with immigration but I think we all feel removed for one reason for another at times.

I thought I didn't like short stories untll I read this. The stories are stunning and full-bodied, rich, thought-provoking and complete. Lahiri manages to cram incredible depth of plot and character into a few pages without burdening the reader or junking up the story. She is an amazing writer. I can't wait for Unaccustomed Earth...