Interpreting Lahiri's Literary Work

For class we read Interpreter of Maladies, a short story by Jhumpa Lahiri, about an American-Indian family returning to India as tourists. This is the second work I have read of Lahiri's, the first being her novel, The Namesake. After reading both Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake, it came to my attention that both works contain characters that feel out of place with themselves and their surroundings. If I were to approach these works through a biographical lens,  I could say that because Lahiri is an American with Bengali parents and a strong Indian heritage, she uses her character's as a way to express and explore her own insecurities as a woman coming from two different worlds. I became more interested in this theory and wanted to know more about Lahiri's background. I found a Youtube video of Lahiri being interviewed on the Diane Rehm show. In the interview, she admits that she will never be able to feel "fully American or fully Indian", that she will always feel as if she is in an "in between zone." It's interesting that in some cases, a reader is able to learn quite a lot about an author through reading their creative works, seeing what secrets the writer chooses to reveal, what insecurities they are willing to expose, and how their background influences their work.

A photo of Jhumpa Lahiri and her husband Alberto Vourvoulias, from Guatemala, having a traditional Indian wedding. 

Click here to watch Diane Rehm's interview with Jhumpa Lahiri.