Lahiri Interview

The interview with Jhumpa Lahiri comes following the debut of her first novel The Namesake. It focuses much on her influences as a writer, particularly when it comes to her Indian heritage. It poses questions such as how much of her work was driven from experience and how this first novel will hold up to her previous Pulitzer-winning collection of short stories. 

Part of the interview that struck me a lot is when the interviewer asks Lahiri about the way that she sees herself when it comes to her heritage and nationality. Lahiri explains the way that she doesn’t really view herself as Indian or American. This self image shifts depending on where she is or whom she is with, but overall, she feels as though she doesn’t fit into either box. This is just very interesting to me, especially as she is asked if she feels like an immigrant, and Lahiri answers no, but she understands what that’s like watching her parents. 

Similarly, when she shares that she was born an Indian citizen, which is interesting as she was born in England and had never actually been to India at the time. She shares that being born a citizen of England may have been better for her because it would have given her this middle ground between American and Indian. 

Lahiri also relates the way that the harshest reviews that she received came from the Indian population. She was told on several occasions that she did have “claim” to write about India which is incredibly hurtful considering the fact that she is Indian, her parents came from there, and she visits the country quite often. This definitely solidified that idea that Lahiri doesn’t feel she has a place. The very country she had been writing about, in part, rejected her.