In A Real Durwan, the residents of an apartment building cast out their old caretaker Boori Ma. Kapasi sees only guilt and cannot offer a solution to her problem. Das admits that her middle child was fathered by another man. She is very different - quite American - and he senses she has a bad marriage, as does he. Kapasi becomes briefly infatuated with the woman. Das declares his job romantic and important, and Mr. He shows the Indian-American Das family the sun temple in Konark and reveals his second job as a translator of symptoms of patients who speak his native tongue. Interpreter of Maladies is the story of Indian tour guide Mr. Witnessing his love and fears, Lilia gains a new awareness of a world larger than her own. The Indian war with Pakistan in 1971 endangers Mr.

Pirzada, since Partition, is no longer considered the same as her parents.

Somewhat cut off from the culture of her immigrant parents, Lilia does not understand that Mr. Pirzada Comes to Dinner, a young Indian-American girl meets a Pakistani man her family routinely invites to dinner. In the end, Shoba admits she is moving out and Shukumar admits to holding his son after he died. Shoba and Shukumar admit minor indiscretions in the beginning and lead up to nagging doubts about their marriage. The darkness gives them a safe space to confess secrets. In A Temporary Matter, an electrical outage forces married couple Shoba and Shukumar to confront their unspoken pain over the loss of a child.

The characters are largely Indian or Indian-American and their stories together paint an evocative picture of India's diaspora. The Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of nine short stories that explore themes of identity, the immigrant experience, cultural differences, love, and family.

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