Interpreter of Maladies
Interpreter of Maladies, written by Jhumpa Lahiri and published in 1999, is an acclaimed collection of nine short stories. The stories take place primarily among the Indian American immigrant population living in Massachusetts. Through these tales, Lahiri examines themes such as cultural identity, assimilation into a new culture, and language barriers that exist between generations. She captures the experiences of those immigrants who have been uprooted from their homeland yet are still struggling to find where they fit within society's conventions.
The title story follows Mr. Kapasi, an interpreter for doctors' visits at a local hospital whose job has become more mundane over time. He meets Shoba and her family while on duty one day and finds himself intrigued by them, despite his shyness when it comes to communicating with strangers outside his work environment. As he gets to know Shoba's husband Sanjeev better during their journey together across India, he begins to understand how much they all need someone like him—someone who can interpret not only words but also emotions and feelings so that communication can be achieved without judgment or misunderstanding due to language barriers or different cultural backgrounds. This tale serves as a powerful reminder about the importance of empathy and understanding between people regardless of background differences, which might seem insurmountable at first glance but are really just superficial divides once we get past our preconceived notions about each other based on stereotypes or prior experience.