Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

This is about a man who is very well educated who lives in India and who gives tours to tourists. He believes that his learning of language has gone to waste as he not only gives tours but also is a physician's assistant in interpreting native language and doctors words.

Mr. and Mrs. Das are on vacation with their two children and have Mr. Kapasi as their tour guide mainly because he speaks English. Mrs. Das becomes fascinated with Mr. Kapasi because he interprets a language that few others can to a doctor who listens to natives with all sorts of maladies. Mr. Kapasi, in turn, has a crush on Mrs. Das. They end up talking alone together. Mrs. Das unburdens herself of a lifelong secret and Mr. Kapasi doesn't know how to respond. Their exchange is both humorous yet thought provoking. She believes that due to his profession as an interpreter of maladies that he would be able in some way to console her to help her with her problems. This author does a fantastic job of describing feelings through glances, thoughts, and images.

The Third and Final Continent by Jhumpa Lahiri

This story compares the lunar landing to a man moving to the United States from India in order to eventually bring his wife, Mala, as well. The man's marriage is arranged. While he is working here he boards with a Mrs Croft who is extremely old and keeps exclaiming "A flag on the moon! Isn't that splendid!" and who expects everyone around her to have the same childlike exuberance about man's "final frontier" The voice of this story captures Mrs Croft as well as the man's although they are both from different continents. The author does a splendid job of also showing us the different ideologies of the time.