Note: This post originally appeared on my discontinued website maartensity.com. The published date and time has been adjusted to match the original.
The effect of Lahiri's stories is comparable to those of Raymond Carver ("A Temporary Matter" seemed the most Carver-like, and is brilliantly effective) in the sense that the author successfully wrenches emotion from the reader even when the story seemed destined for a clichéd ending. The twist comes, and it is usually related to emotion, rather than simply plot. You don't see it coming because you didn't realise until too late that the narrator is also talking about you! As such, Lahiri manages to take particular events and raise them to general, sometimes universal significance.
This collection of stories, for which Lahiri won the Pullitzer Prize in 2000, is not only enjoyable but an interesting study in writing craft. The final story "The Third and Final Continent" is written from the viewpoint of an Indian Man, and creates a personality that is convincingly male (Lahiri is female), without blurting out the secrets of its created persona. The short fiction writer will find the craft behind this achievement of interest.
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