This Blessed House

I really enjoyed This Blessed House, mainly because it was a quick read and there was not a lot to have to think about upon the first reading. In a way it was kind of comical because of Twinkle finding all of these relics all over the house, and with them being of a completely different religion. The story works in that aspect though because Twinkle is a very multi-dimensional character, and seems like the kind of person that would be open and welcoming to something new, unlike her husband, Sanjeev. I'm not picking on Sanjeev though, because I do respect his point of view. In a way, he was geared to having that kind of mindset because everything he did was by the book. He had a near-arranged marriage which isn't all that uncommon in India/the Hindu faith and he went through extensive schooling to become an engineer. Those two things in my mind make him a literal person because there's not much room for interpretation when it comes to engineering, it's basically just math and science. Twinkle, on the other hand, just seems to kind of go with the flow. She's a literature major, and after taking this class and previous English courses, it's very evident that just about anything in literature can be translated to mean just about anything. To me, that just gives her an "anything goes" kind of attitude, which is really important. I think these two are good for each other, despite their little arguments here and there. They say opposites attract and that's more than likely the case.

The one thing that I didn't like about this story was the ending. I felt it was too abrupt. It would have been interesting to see how everything played out between them and whether or not Sanjeev just accepted Twinkle for who she is. It wasn't until the party that I think Sanjeev didn't start accepting and appreciated Twinkle for who she is. Everyone had a good time with her, and even one of Sanjeev's collegues complemented Twinkle on how "Wow" she was. I would have liked to have seen how Lahiri would have wrapped up the relationship.

After reading this, I was curious to see what kind of book this short story came from. Even though it's not always appropriate to use Wikipedia and professors frown on it, I still think it's a good tool to use when you want a general overview of something. Thus, I headed over to Wikipedia and found Interpreter of Maladies. I had no idea it won a Pulitzer Prize! If I have the time over the summer, I'd like to read it, after I finish Lolita :P