Interpreter of Maladies

May Diversity selection:
Interpreter of Maladies
by Jhumpa Lahiri

Navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri's elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of culture and generations. In "A Temporary Matter," published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession.

This title is on AAUW's Adelante book list because of our branch's recommendation. We discussed in it July 2007 on our book group listserv. Here's what I wrote in that group discussion:
I was fascinated by the multiple layers of cultural blending revealed in these stories
-- Indian-born living in America, American-born (of Indian heritage) visiting India, some told from the perspective of the adult immigrants, some told from the perspective of their American-born children.

One of the strengths of these stories is the vivid imagery. There were times when I felt I could feel the textures of the fabrics and smell the aromas of the foods. Perhaps it's because of my limited exposure to (and knowledge of) Indian culture that I found these stories so vivid. Yet what they ended up emphasizing was rather universal themes of loneliness, jealousy, vulnerabilities, infidelities and foibles. The one that seemed to stand out as more pointedly an immigrant's isolation in America was the story "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine," where a man is separated from his family, and watches the news with another Indian couple as they see the war in their homeland erupt over partition -- the adults' immersion in the news from India, whereas the child notices no other children in school are even vaguely aware of it.

Lahiri is a gifted writer, and each story had distinct, memorable characters. But by the time I reached the last one, I found myself aching for at least ONE happy ending. And, lo and behold!, that's what she gave me.

Rich Woman

May Financial Literacy selection:
Rich Woman
by Kim Kiyosaki

Written by Kim Kiyosaki, the wife of bestselling author Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Woman is for women who insist on being financially independent — without depending on a man, family, company, or government to take care of them. In her book, Kiyosaki applies the same moneymaking strategies that have made Rich Dad, Poor Dad one of the great publishing success stories of all time — but in a voice that is aimed directly at women. No matter what your financial background is or your current job situation, Rich Woman provides the essential road map for any woman who aspires to be financially free.

Changing Minds

May Organizational Change selection:
Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People’s Minds (Leadership for the Common Good)
by Howard Gardner

Drawing on his innovative thinking on multiple intelligences (e.g, Frame of Mind) and his own experience, the Harvard psychologist presents a new framework for analyzing "levers" that trigger/thwart changes of mind exemplified by historic and current change agents in diverse fields.