Interpreter of Maladies brings to life the stories of characters navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the new world they find themselves in. These elegant, touching stories explore the search for love beyond the barriers of culture and generations.

In "A Temporary Matter," a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession. Lahiri writes with deft cultural insight and a nuanced depth, charting the emotional journeys of her characters with compassion and understanding.