"Interpreter of Maladies" garnered universal acclaim from myriad publications. Michiko Kakutani of the "New York Times" praises Lahiri for her writing style, citing her "uncommon elegance and poise." "Time" applauded the collection for "illuminating the full meaning of brief relationships—with lovers, family friends, those met in travel". Ronny Noor asserts, "The value of these stories—although some of them are loosely constructed— lies in fact that they transcend confined borders of immigrant experience to embrace larger age-old issues that are, in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 'cast into the mould of these new times' redefining America."