SSC Selection Post 2025 PYQ — Question 23

SSC Selection Post - Matriculation Level - 1st August 2025 - Shift 3 • General Awareness • Q23

Which book won Jhumpa Lahiri the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2000?

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D

Explanation

Correct Answer

Interpreter of Maladies

Explanation

Jhumpa Lahiri won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in the year 2000 for her debut book, Interpreter of Maladies. Published in 1999, it is a collection of nine short stories that explore the delicate themes of marriage, identity, estrangement, and the cultural disconnect experienced by Indian immigrants, particularly Bengalis, moving between their homeland and the United States. The title story follows an Indian-American family visiting India and their complex interaction with their tour guide, Mr. Kapasi, who also works as an interpreter of illnesses at a doctor's clinic.

Key Points

Interpreter of Maladies is notable for being one of the rare short story collections to ever win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which is traditionally awarded to full-length novels.

The Namesake was Jhumpa Lahiri's first full-length novel published in 2003, focusing on the generational struggles of the Ganguli family and was later adapted into a major Hollywood motion picture directed by Mira Nair.

The Lowland, published in 2013, is a deeply political novel set against the backdrop of the Naxalbari movement in West Bengal, which was shortlisted for both the Man Booker Prize and the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction.

Important Questions and Answers

Question: In which year was Jhumpa Lahiri awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?

Answer: She was awarded the prize in the year 2000.

Question: What literary format is Interpreter of Maladies written in?

Answer: It is an anthology comprising nine distinct short stories.