Unaccustomed Earth
by Jhumpa Lahiri
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Book Reviews of Unaccustomed Earth
Book Review: A comforting familiarity
Summary: 5 Stars
I, like other readers, felt that many of the characters and stories seemed very similar to Ms. Lahiri's other works. While this may be the case, I found it comforting. Though the characters are almost always Begali, they could easily be members of other groups. I think Ms. Lahiri touches on themes common to most people: loneliness, isolation, longing, etc. Ms. Lahiri is writing what she knows and she does it well.
I think at this point, I would expect these types of stories from Ms. Lahiri, just as people expect horror from Stephen King. Can you imagine if you read this book and it was all about Cuban immigrants in Miami? Maybe a lot of the same themes would apply, but it wouldn't be what you'd expect.
It's nice to open this book and find some familiar (but different) characters back in Boston (and beyond). But once you go past the surface, there is more than the Bengali experience. It's not the "Namesake" in small chunks or "Interpreter of Maladies" with a few new characters.
With that said, I'd definitely recommend "Unaccustomed Earth" to those who have not read Ms. Lahiri before and those who are coming back for more. While the settings are familiar, you don't need to have read any of her other books to thoroughly enjoy this one. Finally, I'd say the last two related stories alone are worth the price of admission, so to speak. Enjoy!
Book Review: A writer's workbook
Summary: 5 Stars
Jhumpa Lahiri is a writer's writer. These stories are very romantic about missed loves. She uses stream of consciousness, changes of point of view, description, storytelling, and other writing techniques very well. I am amazed at her style.
She writes what she knows. She is a Bengali immigrant. Her characters and stories reflect that heritage. Her stories contain culture but are not limited to the culture. She is describing the human condition that is universal to all: A father who is trying to make a new life and trying to make up to a daughter for past ills; a flat-mate who falls in love with another but dares not express that love; parents that set unrealistic standards for their children. The situations are real and universal. I learn about the Bengali people but I also learn about life through her writing.
I was expecting a full novel instead of short stories in the first part of the book and a novella in the second part. She writes about the different garments and dishes but explain them well. Her purpose is not to do that. Her purpose is to tell the story and detailed descriptions of the foods and garments would distract. The reader can always go to Google for more detailed information.
The book kept my focus. A good read as they say. But more importantly for me, I found myself smiling at the style and techniques in admiration and jealousy.
Book Review: Pleasant, but not brilliant prose
Summary: 3 Stars
I don't want to criticize Jhumpa for always choosing the same milieu and the same class of Ivy League privileged Bengali families in the US. It's all well known and she doesn't try to deny it. But what seems most disappointing about her writing is that we have the impression she is constantly recycling the same characters, who although sometimes flawed, always seem somewhat too well planned out and not real enough. They want to live beyond the constraints of their cultural up-bringing, but they never really expand their experience beyond occasionally marrying an American. The short story that stood out the most for me was "Nobody's business" where the author finally strays from the usual plot; that of a mixed marriage, but the plot still seems to dance around marriage and education.
Ms Lahiri's writing is mostly quite pleasant, skilled and at times a brilliantly put together prose, yet it lacks luster or humor. The characters, like the story lines are always on the verge of exploding, on the verge of something meaningful happing to them, yet they always stop short and the endings inevitably seem underwhelming.
The emotions that she tries so hard to elicit in the reader feel contrived. Having read numerous comparisons to Alice Munro, I was expecting much more, but if you are looking for an enjoyable read on the plane, I'd whole heartedly recommend it.
Book Review: A perfect "10" -- have to settle for 5 stars
Summary: 5 Stars
To be brutally honest, short stories are a genre I usually avoid. I find myself frustrated with having to start and stop the story and my (usual) inability to get into the flow and inhabit the fictional world. When it comes to Jhumpa Lahiri, none of the above holds true and I will read anything she writes, in any genre. This collection of eight short stories is just as fabulous as "Interpreter of Maladies" and her full-length novel "The Namesake". Three books, three knockout winners in my opinion.
The first five stories are independent of each other and the final three are interwoven with the characters. Each story typically runs 40 pages so there is enough time to fully develop these characters and she does it so well. Telling the stories of second generation Bengalis, Ms. Lahiri explores all aspects of being immigrants and the children of immigrants but particularly shines as it relates to the conflict between the parents looking back to India and the children looking forward to the United States. Each story is an absolute jewel that creates a world where the reader can enter, enjoy and then exit all within the span of relatively few pages. Very few authors can do this to my satisfaction and she is the best I have found.
Outstanding book and incredibly talented author overall.
Book Review: We've Been Here Before
Summary: 2 Stars
Lahiri's work has become predictable: children of middle or upper class Bengali immigrants adopt American customs, causing consternation to their traditional parents/family. Most of this isn't even especially well written. She had some earlier successes, notably the Third and Final Continent, but this is just getting boring.
Most of her characters suffer the same life altering but not necessarily fatal flaw: unwilling to accept familial change, they simply turn away. Thus, a young man walks out on his father when he fails to connect with his new stepmother and step sisters and a young mother lets her father walk out of her life when she begins to suspect his travel companion is actually a girlfriend.
In July '08, the Frank O'Connor Short Story prize committee announced that it was taking the unusual step of announcing Lahiri as the annual contest's outright winner rather that pare the long list of almost 40 names down to five and then announcing the winner at the festival. Apparently, the judges found her work to be so superior to the other nominees that they felt suspense was unwarranted. I for my part don't see it. The irony is that given the breadth of Frank O'Connor's work--childhood, love, soldiership, and on and on--Lahiri seems limited to the same old characters and ideas.