Title: Unaccustomed Earth
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Published: 2009
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Published: 2009
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5
After reading 'The Namesake', I was pretty impressed by Lahiri's writing. So took up 'Unaccustomed Earth', which is a collection of short stories. Loved all the stories, though some could have been less draggy.
Unaccustomed Earth: This story is about a young mother Ruma in a new city. After the death of her mother, her father visits her for the first time. Ruma has never lived her with father alone and has never connected to him. Her father takes care of her son and tends to the garden in the backyard while keeping his friendship with another woman a secret. The father-daughter-grandkid relationship and how Ruma overcomes the unknown fear of living with her father has been written brilliantly.
Hell-Heaven: This is about a housewife and an acquaintance Pranab whom she falls in love with. He marries an American and the Bengali community is upset about him not keeping in touch with any of the old friends, which they blame on his American wife. All the friends are invited to Pranab's house for Thanksgiving after 20 years. The twists and turns after the gathering are interesting.
A Choice of Accommodations: This is about a couple who have planned a romantic getaway when they attend a friend's wedding and it takes a dark turn.
I did not quite understand this story, except for the ups and downs in a marriage that everyone faces. I didn't get what the author was trying to say!
Only Goodness: This is about a woman who tries to give a perfect life to her brother who is an alcoholic while dealing with her parents and their cultural differences.
Nobody's Business: Sangeeta is in love with Farouk and her roommate says that Farouk is cheating on her after a woman calls up home and asks if Sangeeta and Farouk are cousins. The story went on and on without any conclusion.
Hema and Kaushik: A three-story linked with two main characters named Hema and Kaushik. The story intensely deals with life, death, love, and fate. It is a very well-written story about two families and how one deals with death and loss. The way this story ended was totally unexpected and left me in disbelief.
Overall, the book was good and I enjoyed reading it. I like the intricacy of relationships, emotions and cultural differences are presented.
Favorite lines from the book :
Rating: 4 out of 5
After reading 'The Namesake', I was pretty impressed by Lahiri's writing. So took up 'Unaccustomed Earth', which is a collection of short stories. Loved all the stories, though some could have been less draggy.
Unaccustomed Earth: This story is about a young mother Ruma in a new city. After the death of her mother, her father visits her for the first time. Ruma has never lived her with father alone and has never connected to him. Her father takes care of her son and tends to the garden in the backyard while keeping his friendship with another woman a secret. The father-daughter-grandkid relationship and how Ruma overcomes the unknown fear of living with her father has been written brilliantly.
Hell-Heaven: This is about a housewife and an acquaintance Pranab whom she falls in love with. He marries an American and the Bengali community is upset about him not keeping in touch with any of the old friends, which they blame on his American wife. All the friends are invited to Pranab's house for Thanksgiving after 20 years. The twists and turns after the gathering are interesting.
A Choice of Accommodations: This is about a couple who have planned a romantic getaway when they attend a friend's wedding and it takes a dark turn.
I did not quite understand this story, except for the ups and downs in a marriage that everyone faces. I didn't get what the author was trying to say!
Only Goodness: This is about a woman who tries to give a perfect life to her brother who is an alcoholic while dealing with her parents and their cultural differences.
Nobody's Business: Sangeeta is in love with Farouk and her roommate says that Farouk is cheating on her after a woman calls up home and asks if Sangeeta and Farouk are cousins. The story went on and on without any conclusion.
Hema and Kaushik: A three-story linked with two main characters named Hema and Kaushik. The story intensely deals with life, death, love, and fate. It is a very well-written story about two families and how one deals with death and loss. The way this story ended was totally unexpected and left me in disbelief.
Overall, the book was good and I enjoyed reading it. I like the intricacy of relationships, emotions and cultural differences are presented.
Favorite lines from the book :
- Megan laughed at such moments, wiping off their hands and faces, convinced that her children could survive anything. She spent her days with people who were fighting for their lives, and could not be shaken by a scraped elbow or a hundred-degree fever.
- "I'm not planning on getting married any time soon," I told her, and she said that she wished she could say the same for dying.
- Even my memories of my mother had begun to break apart in the three and half years since her death, the thousands of days I had spent with her reduced to a handful of stock scenes. I was lucky, compared to Rupa and Piu, having had my mother for as long as I did.
- I had never traveled alone before and I discovered that I liked it. No one in the world knew where I was, no one had the ability to reach me. It was like being dead, my escape allowing me to taste that tremendous power my mother possessed forever.
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