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Book: Unaccustomed Earth
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Publisher: Random House India
Genre: Human relationships
Pages: 333
Price: Rs 295
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review: ‘Unaccustomed Earth’ is the number
one New York Times Bestseller, penned by an author who has already made waves
with ‘The Namesake’ and ‘Interpreter of Maladies’.
The Pulitzer-prize winning lady Jhumpa Lahiri
has made a niche theme for herself. This book traces the same theme with
stories and novellas threaded around the Bengali diaspora, living in America.
‘Unaccustomed Earth’ comprises of 6 novellas,
all set in some American city and involving protagonists who have their roots
in India.
The first story titled ‘Unaccustomed Earth’
is painfully good, sentimental, powerful and engaging. Jhumpa Lahiri brings to
fore a father-daughter relationship and a grandfather-grandson relationship
brilliantly. One week of stay makes an impassive old man fall in love with his
toddler grandson, makes a daughter see her father in a new light. Lahiri pens a
brutally real tale and adds detailing of the kind we never thought existed.
The second story ‘Hell-Heaven’ is about
broken hearts and the many unspoken promises of life. It is about a married
lonely Bengali woman, about her young daughter, about her aloof husband, and
about a Bengali man who, from a complete stranger, became a part of the family,
only to become a complete stranger again.
Lahiri vividly plays with emotions, often
ripping apart the bosoms of the female characters and revealing to the readers
the scars of the heart that lies beneath.
The third story ‘A choice of accommodations’
is about the ravages that time is capable of inflicting on a marriage. Lahiri
describes how despite liking each other, a husband and wife can run out of love
over time so easily, and how they can rediscover it years later, almost as
easily.
The fourth story ‘Only Goodness’ is about a
family that breaks apart; of a floundering relationship between a son and his
parents; of a sister who committed an innocent mistake and had to pay forever
with a drunkard brother; of a boy who demolishes all hopes of his ageing
parents, gets back to the right path, only to get dissuaded. His world desired ‘only
goodness’ from him, but he sadly failed to deliver the promises.
Lahiri pens a realistic tale and pours in
the kind of simplicity that the much-awaited anti-climax never comes.
The fifth story ‘Nobody’s Business’ is
about friendship, love, false love and unrequited love. It us about Paul who
cared for Sangeeta (Sang) in a very invisible manner. It is about Sang who fell
for the wrong guy, who never cared for Paul. It is about pain, hope, dismay and
pain. It is about love in its many cruel forms.
The sixth novella is split into many
chapters and explores the lives of Hema and Kaushik. The first chapter ‘Once in
a lifetime’ is narrated in the 2nd person style and has yet all the
ingredients of an innocent adolescent love. There is an unusual amount of
reality to the tale; so much that you feel terrified, lest the author stole all
your childhood secrets.
The next chapter ‘Year’s End’ is Kaushik’s
reply to Hema’s ‘Once in a lifetime’. Narrated in the first person, it points
at the stigmas of someone who has lost his mother and is forced to accept a
stepmother and two stepsisters. The tale is poignant and touches most of the
hues of human relationships.
‘Going Ashore’ is the final chapter of the
novella, recounting the happy-sad moments of Hema and Kaushik’s reunion. Again,
Jhumpa Lahiri digs deep into human relationships and threads a dauntingly
realistic narration and ends the book with a lump-in-the-throat climax.
“Lahiri’s enormous gifts as a storyteller
are on full display….gorgeous”- these words by Khaled Hosseini sum up my
feelings nicely. Indeed, a book you cannot help falling in love with.
~Ritesh Agarwal
Email: ritzy182000@gmail.com
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| Jhumpa Lahiri |
Jhumpa Lahiri is one of my most favorite writers of all times. I finished this book last month and fell in love with her again.
ReplyDeleteIts very difficult to choose which novella is best.
I love your reviews yaar.
Hey, thanks. And your suggestions are also very good. Yup, Jhumpa made me her fan
DeleteI haven't been able to pick this up yet, thanks for this positive review.
ReplyDeletedo read this Indrani...it is better than you what one may think of it :)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI purchased this book long back. But somehow left it after reading the first story. I am now all charged up to give it a second chance. Thanks Ritesh. :)
ReplyDeleteHey, you should read it you know....
ReplyDelete