Jackie Baker

The Life of Jhumpa Lahiri

First appearances will tell you she is quiet and modest.  Don’t be fooled. This petite slender woman has the power to move thousands of readers with her beautiful, melodious words. In the literary world, she is known as the “Quiet Laureate” but to her family, she is known as Jhumpa. Jhumpa is known for having been able to share the immigrant experience with world in a way that is nonjudgmental.

Jhumpa was born Nilanjana Sudeshna Lahiri in London on 11 July 1967. When Jhumpa was three years old, her parents immigrated to the United States and settled in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Her father, Amar K. Lahiri, is professor librarian at the University of Rhode Island, and her mother, Tapati Lahiri, is a schoolteacher. Jhumpa’s love for writing started at an early age. Jhumpa used to, “write extended fictional works in notebooks and composed stories jointly with friends during recess at her elementary school” (Karim 1). Jhumpa’s love of writing continued to blossom well into high school, where she published stories in her high school newspaper. She went on to attend Barnard College in New York City, where she obtained a B.A in English literature. After graduating from Barnard college, Lahiri furthered her education by receiving masters degrees in English, comparative literature, and creative writing at Boston University. She then pursued her PhD in Renaissance studies.

Lahiri has been very successful in the literary world. In 2000, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her first volume of short stories titled The Interpreter of Maladies (Langley 5). After much hard work, Lahiri was not only recognized in the literary world; she was also the first Indian woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Literature. In 2003, Lahiri wrote first novel The Namesake which demonstrated Lahiri’s versatility as a writer. Most recently, in 2008, Lahiri published her second collection of short stories titled Unaccustomed earth. This collection quickly debut at number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.  New York Times Book review editor Dwight Garner stated, “It’s hard to remember the last genuinely serious, well-written work of fiction — particularly a book of stories — that leapt straight to No. 1; it’s a powerful demonstration of Lahiri’s newfound commercial clout"(13). Lahira has accomplished many feats that have placed her at the top of the literary charts.

Lahira has quickly become my favorite author because she places a large dent on the predominantly Caucasian literary scene. She writes about her life experiences and she doesn’t conform to be popular. She knows how she is; this alone makes her a success.

 I enjoy reading Lahiri’s writings because her themes include the issues of immigration and assimilation. Having been raised by Mexican immigrant parents, I have had a firsthand experience of having to make the difficult decision to assimilate to the dominant culture or remain unchanged to these new imposed norms. Author Judith Caesar says the following about Jhumpa’s writing, “she analyzes the conflicting attractions of the American way of life and the tug of tradition” (85). Jhumpa, herself, had to deal with pleasing her extremely cultured parents and her American peers. Jhumpa’s writings show the struggle of the immigrant to assimilate; they also deal with the issue of the model minority. Most of the Indian characters in Jhumpa’s writings are successful professionals who come to the United States to climb up the corporate latter. Jhumpa very effectively tackles the tug of war battle that immigrants must play, but she does with a grace.

Works Cited

Caesar, Judith. "Beyond Cultural Identity in Jhumpa Lahiri's 'When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine.'."

North Dakota Quarterly. 70.1 (Winter 2003): 82-91. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 96. Detroit: Gale, 2007. 82-91. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Univ of Houston - Clear Lake. 9 Dec. 2009 <http://libproxy.uhcl.edu:2306/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=txshracd2589>.

Garner, Dwight. "Jhumpa Lahiri, With a Bullet" The New York Times Paper Cuts blog, 2008-04-10.

            Retrieved on 2008-04-12.

Karim, Rezaul. "Jhumpa Lahiri." South Asian Writers in English. Ed. Fakrul Alam. Dictionary

of Literary Biography Vol. 323. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Univ of Houston - Clear Lake. 9 Dec. 2009 <http://libproxy.uhcl.edu:2306/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=txshracd2589>.

Langley, Lee. "Cola versus curry." Spectator. 294.9154 (17 Jan. 2004): p39. Literature Resource Center.

Gale. Univ of Houston - Clear Lake. 9 Dec. 2009 <http://libproxy.uhcl.edu:2306/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=txshracd2589>.