Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri

After reading the beautiful "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri last summer, I was smitten. I'd never been a big fan of the short-story, but this was unlike anything I'd ever read before in my life - a study of the human condition presented with elegance and grace. I was almost overwhelmed for Lahiri that this debut effort was awarded the Pulitzer. How on earth do you top that? With "Unaccustomed Earth", that's how.

It is clear to me, however, after reading "Unaccustomed Earth", Lahiri is not a one-hit wonder. In this second collection of short stories, she has tapped into the source of what made Maladies so magical. These stories focus on the complications of mixed race marriages (Bengali and Caucasian), finding the balance between old world and new, the difficult journey of marriage itself, coping with the death of a loved one, and inter-relationships between man, wife, mother, daughter, father, son, lovers and friends. The nuances are subtle, and are full of so much beauty and grace, it is breath-taking. Whether you are Indian or not, the emotions addressed here are those of each and every one of us. I feel like I am being pithy and vague, but few words can really do her work justice.

A grown Bengali women is pleasantly surprised to find common ground with her widowed father who had been emotionally distant throughout her childhood. A married couple get away for the weekend to attend the wedding of a friend, and are forced to face jealousies and "life after kids". Siblings grow distant when the brother falls victim to alcoholism, and attempt to reconcile with potentially disastrous consequences. A young man watches helplessly when his roommate and secret crush endures a dysfunctional love affair.

But the piece de resistance is a three-chapter story about Hema and Kaushik, two young people who enter and leave each other's lives multiple times. Hema narrates one chapter when they are in their teens. Kaushik narrates the second chapter when he is in college. And they both narrate the third, when they are adults. Each time their lives intersect, their fates are irreversibly altered. You finish this set of stories feeling like you, too, have had your set of literary standards altered.

If your hesitation with short-stories is that you feel short-changed on character development, look no further. Lahiri's stories are between thirty and fifty pages long - longer than the average short story. In addition, Lahiri is very efficient with her words, so almost immediately you are drawn into these characters' lives. I've read three hundred page books that give you less. Do I wish the stories were full-length books? Yes and no. You fall in love with some of the characters, and don't want to let them go, but some things are better left where they stand. Just like with the end of Gone With the Wind, I'd rather think about the possibilities than have reality muck it all up.

I'd be hard-pressed to choose my favorite Lahiri novel. You aren't going to go wrong with either one. If you haven't yet experienced the gift of Lahiri's writing, I must implore you to put her on your list of things to read soon.

5 out of 5 stars