Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
4/28/20261 hr 54 min
How did a debut short story collection by an unknown writer become one of the most significant publishing successes of the twentieth century? Jeff and Rebecca are joined by literary historian and data scientist Dr. Laura McGrath for a conversation about Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies. They explore what makes Lahiri's stories so meaningful and memorable, chart the book's path from paperback original to Pulitzer Prize winner, and marvel at the word-of-mouth magic that a turned a book that began with the most modest of prospects into a bestseller with more than 15 million copies in print. You can find Laura's book Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction wherever books are sold. Subscribe to our free newsletter, and become a member for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus content. Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Email us: zerotowellread@bookriot.com Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read! Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Use code THEBOOKS for 20% off at Cozy Earth. Go to quince.com/bookriot for free shipping and 365-day returns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJeff O'Neal· Host0:00
Zero to Well Read is sponsored by ThriftBooks.com. Today on the show, we're talking about Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies, a contemporary classic, a modern masterpiece, something that Rebecca and I both love, and we're joined by a special guest. You're gonna hear about one of the quirks of this book, it was a paperback original. So for, I'm not, I sometimes have a collector's heart, and sometimes I don't, but I really want this in a paperback if you're getting one of these. Weirdly, um, the original cover design, it's a little hard to find in the original paperback. I'm not even talking about first edition, but, like, subsequent reprints, but there is a hardcover that's available in the first edition cover design, orangey, gauzy hued with a couple of candles on it. That's the one I really want there. Most of them you're gonna find have the winner of the Pulitzer Prize sticker, I think actually printed on there. If you can find one that doesn't, grab you one of those, 'cause those are super rare. You can browse those and other editions on ThriftBooks.com. Thanks to them for sponsoring this episode of Zero to Well Read. [upbeat music] Welcome to Zero to Well Read, a podcast with everything you need to know about the books you wish you read. I'm Jeff O'Neill.
Rebecca Schinsky· Host1:08
And I'm Rebecca Schinsky. This week, we're delving into our first short story collection, Jhumpa Lahiri's 1999 debut, Interpreter of Maladies, and we have a very special guest joining us. Dr. Laura McGrath is an English professor, literary historian, and data scientist. Listeners of the Book Riot podcast might have heard her over there, where she's our regular publishing data correspondent, and her