Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

The author characterizes the Das family as a typical American family. They dressed as foreigners did but look Indian. They were young and had three children. They have a little girl and two boys that are close in age that have braces. Mr. and Mrs. Das act more like brother and sister than parents. They all look Indian but have different values and perspectives on the way of life. Mr. Kapasi's marriage is unhappy because his wife doesn't like his job as an interpreter because it reminded her of the son she'd lost and resents the other lives he helped. They don't even talk much to each other; when his wife brings him tea she brings it to him in silence. Mr. Kapasi would love to be able to write to Mrs. Das so that they could tell each other about where they live. He would like to know more about America and where Mrs. Das lives in New Jersey. After he talked to Mrs. Das alone in the car he changed his mind on getting to know her and her life better because when his address flew away in the wind he didn't mind that it did. Losing contact with her forever. He realized that the Das family are just tourist with their own problems of their own to deal with, but somewhat similar to his own problem with his wife. In the whole story the children were interested in the monkeys, not knowing that they really could be dangerous if you get to close. When Bobby got attacked and beat with a stick because he was standing where there was food, even though Mr. Kapasi warned them about having food around the monkeys, it made Mr. Kapasi realize that Mrs. Das wasn't what he thought and she isn't a very good mother. So when his address flew away in the wind he didn't mind that it did.
Overall I thought it was a good story and had a interesting plot.