The Middleman and Other Stories

Any reviewer who finds this book boring probably has never read Don Quixote (the world's first novel) let alone much else, and is therefore hardly qualified to comment on the basis of such limited experience. In any case neuro-science tells us that brain-sculpting theta waves predominate during boredom, indicating that learning (whatever one's subjective feeling of lassitude) is in fact taking place. While this is sometimes a shocking book, only the severely culture-bound and those with no sense of humour will find it boring. I would rate it as an update on Kafka's 'Amerika' - a modern vision of the USA by the latest underclass of arrivals, struggling to carve out their identity in the land of [for them] little peace and [frequently] not much glory. It'll make you laugh and cry - but you'll never see yourself as others see you unless you try .

Two of my most prominent reading passions are Asian books and, in particular, those set in India or concerned with the Indian sub- culture (e.g. any of Rohinton Mistry's books, The Namesake, Death of Vishnu, Red Carpet, etc) and collections of short stories. But what makes this collection so special is that Ms. Mukherjee does not focus on her Indian roots, though several stories do concern people of Indian heritage, but cover many diverse cultures -- Italian- Americans, An Iraqi Jew, a Vietnam veteran in Florida and express a wide range of "voices." These stories are particularly effective in that you find yourself involved in the characters and their circumstances almost instantly. It is as if you had prior knowledge of them as you begin to read any one of the stories. She also has a literary "trick" of sorts that I really enjoyed in that she will make reference to some little item --almost as a throwaway that was featured in an earlier story in the collection. It is very subtle but a nice little device that I caught on to and served to enhance the experience even more. And though this collection was published sometime ago I found these wonderful stories still timely. I would highly recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys this genre. Now on to purchase soem of her other works.

You can hardly call her a "Indian women writer" that seems too narrow. She writes boldly and assumes roles that only a cosummate writer can do. Her Middleman story set the stage and then each story just got better. Forget Divakurani whose books are overarated, if you want to read "Indian women writers", then Bharti Mukherjee has no equal in this genre. She is astounding, fresh, and tanscends her category.

I read this book and the Interpreter of Maladies back to back and though there are similarities as to subject they are very different writers. Mukherjee's story's snap and pop while Lahiri's sparkle. These are great stories about being in a new place told from various viewpoints. My favorite was about a Catholic woman introducing her Afghan botfriend to her parents at thanksgiving. It was uncomfrtably like being there. Enjoy!

Even after five years. A real author's author, Mukherjee's prose deserves wider recognition. When I read this collection, I got the sense that she could write the next Great American Novel.