Sexy

“Sexy” is a short story by Jhumpa Lahiri. “Sexy” was originally published in the print issue of The New Yorker from December 28, 1998/January 4, 1999. The story also appears in Lahiri’s 1999 short story collection Interpreter of Maladies, which won the Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction in 2000, when Lahiri was 33. The two published versions of the story have slight variations.

This guide refers to the version published in the 1999 Interpreter of Maladies.

Jhumpa Lahiri is of Indian (Bengali) descent. She was born in London, UK, and grew up in the United States in Rhode Island. As a child, she traveled regularly to India with her parents to make extended family visits. In her writing, Lahiri draws inspiration from her international upbringing. Her short story “Sexy” features the themes of Identity: Difference and Engagement, Perceptions of Infidelity, and Fantasy, Wealth, and Aspiration.

“Sexy” is told from a third-person limited omniscient point of view, focusing on the experiences of Miranda, the story’s protagonist. The narrative begins with a conversation between Miranda and her colleague,

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