When reading Lahiri's stories you cannot help but imagine the author herself living through the events on the pages. One of the major commonalities between the stories in Interpreter of Maladies is the storyline that they share not only amongst themselves but also the woman that authored them.
One of the most obvious commonalities between the stories in Interpreter of Maladies and the life of Jhumpa Lahiri are the main character in the stories. In many of her stories the main character is a woman in her thirties, living somewhere in the northeast, and in some way or another is associated with someone of Indian descent, be it themselves, a co-worker, or a friend. .
In "A Temporary Matter" the features that are shared between Lahiri and Shoba are undeniable. Both are women in their thirties living in New England. Also, in the story Shoba is a proofreader and even though proofreading is different from actually writing, it a job related to literature none the less. Also, both women are of Indian descent but do not fit the typical stereotype of an India woman. Shoba has a career and lives for herself and from what we know about Lahiri's life she also does not fit the mold of the typical Indian woman. But the similarities between the life of author and story do not stop there. Also, the main character of the story, Shoba's husband, Shukamar, is a graduate student struggling to finish the work required for his degree; just as Lahiri struggled to gain admission to a graduate school of her choice. "A Temporary Matter" is truly a reflection of the author's life onto the page.
Another story in which the similarities between the author's life and the actual text are immense is "The Third and Final Continent". In this story a man travels from India to London to continue his education, then to the United States, Boston to be exact, in order to start a new chapter in his life. This plot bears many similarities to Lahiri's life in many ways.
