Interpreter of Maladies

I just finished "Interpreter of Maladies," a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri. As I worked my way through the collection, I was amazed at how human her characters were. Yes, all the stories centered around Indians, though only a few were set in India, but other than adding interesting details and flavor, these stories could have been about anyone. She has an incredible talent for believable voices and relationships. Most of the stories ended rather cynically, but I guess that's life. Not really tragic, not really sad, just flawed. I thoroughly enjoyed "A Temporary Matter," the first story in the collection, which Brad has already addressed very well. I also thought "The Third and Final Continent" was particularly good characterization, following an Indian man as he first arrives in Boston and meets his 103-year-old landlord. You could really picture the characters' mannerisms and hear the ever-so-slight awkwardness of phrasing of a non-native English speaker even after four decades. Excellent.