Interpreter of Maladies

Interpreter of Maladies / Jhumpa Lahiri / Flamingo

Despite raving reviews and the 2000 Pulitzer Prize, this one rates average on my list. I picked it up because I've developed a taste for Asian authors, particularly Indian writers. The stories' backdrop are colourful enough, with the masala of food, colourful saris and the different layers of the Indian society. However the stories end too abruptly for my liking. Like the story of Mrs. Sen, where a middle-aged lady develops an unlikely bond with the boy she was baby-sitting. One day she gets involved in a minor accident and that was the end of her baby-sitting days. No explanations as to why and how the accident affected her and the side-line bussines of her baby-sitting. Most of the stories similarly climb to a climax an unrelentingly jumps off the cliff. Save for one story that actually ended with an ending. It wasn't a happy one, but it brought the short tale to a closing. Her style of writing gave the impression that Lahiri got caught up in building the stories and suddenly got too tired to bring them to a proper end. The nine short stories left me with the recurring "So, what was the point of that story?".

Angela's Ashes

Angela's Ashes / Frank McCourt / HarperCollins Publishers

Despite all the hardship depicted so vividly, this book kept me glued from cover to cover. It is hard to imagine how Frank McCourt actually made it past adolescence with the constant lack of food and nourishment. The babies were brought up on sugar water instead of milk, there is usually no heat in the house and rags are used in place of diapers. Above all that, there is Frank's undivided loyalty to has Dad, Mam and his little brothers. The language is simple, the picture is clear and the poverty is saddening. Frank McCourt recalls his childhood with unbiased detail and unrivaled storytelling finesse. At the end of the story, I find myself sincerely wishing him a better life in America, the land of opportunity. 'Tis a moving story and an amazing book, it is.