It is an astonishing to discover that this collection of nine short stories is Jhumpa Lahiri's first published work. It is no suprise to find that it won her a Pulitzer Prize in the year 2000. This is an almost perfect collection - the epitome of what short stories should be. Each is caringly crafted, exquisite in design, gentle yet sturdy and perfectly balanced and calm. A wonderful book. My favourite was serendipitously the last - The Third and Final Continent. Blissful and contented reading. ( )

Lahiri is a wonderful author--she seems to look into the souls of her characters, and when doing so looks into the reader's soul as well.

Jhumpa Lahiri's 2000 Pulitzer Prize winning short story collection introduces us to characters that slowly work their way into your soul and remain there long after their story is finished. She has crafted a gem of a collection, where all the stories have a common theme:loss.

"A Temporary Matter" tells of a young couple whose marriage is coming apart after their first child is still-born. When the electric company notifies them that their power will be interrupted every night for one hour for repairs, the young husband sees this as an opportunity for them to recover what they have lost and save their marriage. He fails to recognize his wife's subtle hints that it is over.

"When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine" is a story told by a ten year old girl whose family invited a visiting professor to dine with them every night. His wife and seven daughters remained in Dacca at a time when it was being shelled, torched and invaded during a civil war in Pakistan. He went months without knowing if they were dead or alive as the postal system had collapsed.

In the title story, an Indian tour guide is showing an American family some of the sights and becomes very taken with the wife and fantasizes about her feelings for him. He is startled and chagrined when she shares a family secret with him that she has never shared with anyone else.

In "A Real Durwan," Boori Ma is the sweeper of the stairwell, who shares "the details of her plight and losses suffered since her deportation to Calcutta after Partition," when she was separated from her husband and four daughters. They tolerate her exaggerated litanies but, in the end, she loses her job, home and the rest of her savings when the residents blame her for circunstances beyond her control.

"Sexy" explains how a young woman is involved with a married man until a young boy she is babysitting helps her to see that she has no future to look forward to.

"Mrs. Sen's" tells the story of an immigrant woman so devastated by her separation from her family in India, and so determined to continue some of her Indian traditions, that she jeopardizes her life and that of the child she is babysitting.

"This Blessed House" introduces us to a young Indian Hindu couple living in Connecticut and settling into their new home. The husband is mortified when his wife puts on display Christian artifacts that they've discovered hidden throughout the house. He is surprised when their housewarming guests find her charming and her collection not mortifying at all.

In "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar," poor Bibi suffers from seizures and the absence of a man in her life. She is desperate to marry and have a child but no man in the town has any interest, after all she's almost 30!

In "The Third and Final Continent," a young man leaves India to study and get a degree in London. He returns to marry the woman selected by his parents and then comes to Boston to start his first job. It is there that he meets 103 year old Mrs. Croft, who rents him a room and has a profound effect on him.

Lahiri's characters jump off the page and the empathy you feel for them is palpable. You know you are in the hands of a master: elegant language that flows beautifully and poetically and story lines that rivet you to the page. This is a fast read but one that will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended. ( )

A quietly lovely read. Characters are wonderful, writing is gorgeous. I can't say enough good things about this collection ( )

This is an excellent collection of short stories, focused on Indians/Bengalis both at home and abroad. Lahiri writes beautifully, and her descriptions of life's minutiae are often very moving. ( )