*Unaccustomed Earth

bc unaccustomed earth

Picked as a New York Times Book Review Best Book of the Year, you immediately understand that you will have to give this book your time, your comprehension, and your patience.   It deserves it.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel consists of short stories involving different generations and different cultures and the way they blend together in different family scenarios.  Ms. Lahiri takes her time fully engrossing the reader in the delicacy of her characters.  Relax and breath in the words.

All of the short stories contain human fragility, sadness, or devastation, but delivered by a subtleness that lures you into a safe zone  – some you don’t see coming, others you just know.

The stories let you see Indian tradition and heritage, and how it coexists in America, the generation that first comes to America and the generation that grows up in America fully submersed.

The first story has so many small subtleties that you may not understand them all, depending on where you are in your own life. A widowed father comes to visit his daughter who is pregnant with her second child.  There is a beauty to this story about older age and independence that far exceeds the author’s age.  Almost all women who have had children and chose to stay home with them will share some of Ruma’s feelings of loneliness and duty, when they are not sure this is what they really want.  Older people who have raised their children are not always so eager to jump back into family time again with their children and their grandchildren, preferring to enjoy their independence – they have earned it.

The second story “Hell-Heaven” again mixes Indian tradition into American life.  There is no one, no matter what their nationality, who does not understand a broken heart.  Apara, who is in an arranged Indian marriage, falls in love with Pranab, a student.  Although no physical connection is made, she feels a very strong emotional connection with Pranab, and is devastated when he marries Deborah.  There is more to this story and well worth the read.

There are three other short  stories and the end of the book is about Hema and Kaushik.  There are three short stories about them individually and then together.  They met three times over a 20 year span, even though they led very different lives.   Some first-generation children honor the traditional roles laid down by their heritage and some don’t.  The last time Hema and Kaushik meet they fall in love and the last story is devoted to them.  What happens to Hema and Kaushik and their families cuts between cultural lines – it could be any of us.

This is a wonderful book for book club.  Another culture and their traditions are always good fodder to start conversations at book club.  You can then proceed to all the different characters in the short stories and what makes them memorable to you.  Discussions about marriage, children and life styles could round out the night.

After a holiday season of thriller and mystery reading, I had to take a step back and slow down and really appreciate the connections that Ms. Lahiri makes.  She has a beautiful way of writing about all of us, not just her Indian heritage.  We are all not so different in the end, and these short stories really reflect that.

Rating: 8.5

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