Jhumpa Lahiri was born to Indian immigrant parents in London, but the family moved to Rhode Island, where she was raised. She has a B.A. in English literature from Barnard College, but was rejected by the graduate schools she applied to. She did not begin to write fiction until, after college, she worked in an office in Cambridge, where she began writing after hours on the computer there. Eventually, she sent her work to the creative writing program at Boston University, and eventually earned th more...
Jhumpa Lahiri was born to Indian immigrant parents in London, but the family moved to Rhode Island, where she was raised. She has a B.A. in English literature from Barnard College, but was rejected by the graduate schools she applied to. She did not begin to write fiction until, after college, she worked in an office in Cambridge, where she began writing after hours on the computer there. Eventually, she sent her work to the creative writing program at Boston University, and eventually earned three M.A. degrees--in English, Creative Writing, and Comparative Literature--as well as a Ph.D. in Renaissance Studies. She began publishing stories--her first was in The New Yorker--and her collection, THE INTERPRETER OF MALADIES, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000.less...
Cheryl wrote a review on Interpreter of Maladies (Edition 001)
This is a collection of short stories by an author who "was born in London of Bengali parents and grew up in Rhode Island, USA." She's won a couple of awards for this book, including the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (the same prize To Kill a Mockingbird won in 1961).
Usually, I don't like short stories because I think the author doesn't have enough time to develop the story and characters sufficiently. But I really enjoyed this book. Her style is light and accessible enough to be read easily (unlike catch-22, which keeps losing me every couple lines in its absurdity), and her stories are compelling. After each story, I just want to read more. They each illuminate different aspects of immigrant life adapting from Indian culture and is written beautifully to exude just the right hint of India that's exotic, but not overpowering. She tells each story with such sensitivity and effortlessly takes on the voice of each unique character. It is a brilliant journey, and a great book. I like!
I'm not the only one who enjoyed this book: http://www.alifeinbooks.com/?p=87. This blog author is way cool! I wonder where she finds the time to read so many books...