Book Review: Unaccustomed Earth

chillibreeze writer — Asha Sudheesh

“Human nature will not flourish....if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn out soil”. Jhumpa Lahiri begins her book by quoting Nathaniel Hawthorne, which delightfully gives us an insight of all her works and almost defines her too. Jhumpa writes about what is best known to her, of living an Indian American life. Living an ‘Indian’ life on a foreign land definitely amounts to living on unaccustomed earth. The book is divided into two parts, the first with five independent stories and second with three linked stories.

The title story is about Ruma, a woman who feels deeply for the loss of her mother and subconsciously expects her father to fill in the role. In each interaction with her father, she reminisces how her mother would have reacted, if she were to be alive. The relation between an aged father and a daughter now married (and her mother) takes a meaningful turn when he comes over to spend a few days with her family.

It brings realization that people change and so does the vibe between individuals, as their own experiences mould them into different beings. It reveals how a man thinks differently as a husband and as a father. The child almost rules priority. He believed that by giving her the best of education and opportunities, Ruma’s life would be different from what his wife’s fate had been. Yet, children and household are her priorities now. He sees how much Ruma resembled her mother, not just in appearance now but also in way of life. The subtle difference oblivious to her father was that, his wife may not have chosen this kind of life, whereas Ruma was not forced into her current life. This freedom of choice may justify but does not however lessen the dreariness of being a lonely bored housewife.

‘Hell-heaven’ is seen from a young girl’s eyes and is a story about her mother’s deep feelings for a person who comes almost out of the blue, into their lives. He is no stranger to them in that foreign land. Coming from Calcutta meant coming from the same family, bound together by language, traditions, food, if not by financial status. What transcends boundaries, is how an Indian married woman falls in love, secretly and how she comes out of it, and lives on. Denying her feelings throughout! It is only in adulthood that she realizes her mother’s grief and the pain those years had entailed.

‘A Choice of Accommodation’ revolves round Amit Sarkar and Megan. The couple decides to attend a friend’s wedding and take off without their children. Amit is a doting protective father. Even as his wife relaxes and enjoys the time without having to worry about the kids, Amit misses them more. He fears the children are not safe with his mother-in-law and thinks about past accidents. It is slowly that we realize how his own relationship with his parents maybe the reason for his insecurity. He cannot comprehend how his own parents could leave him at Langford, at such a young age and return back to India. “Still, he refused to forgive them” speaks volumes about his feelings for his parents. He could never imagine parting with his own children. The sense of fear in him almost makes him jealous of his wife. His insecurities creep in different forms, not allowing him to enjoy his blessings but fear losing them.

‘Only Goodness’ is about a sister who feels responsible for her brother’s alcoholism. Parents overlooking their son’s fallouts and hoping that everything would be normal soon. How sky-high expectations scale down to just hoping for a sober son at home. It is again a lovely story of how humans, however perfect they may appear to be, have their own fallacies. They may appear to be the perfect daughter, perfect husband but this facade can come apart anytime.

‘Nobody’s Business’ feels a little out of place in this book. Sang is again of an Indian origin, living the American life, fitting in perfectly defying all her inner Indian ghosts. Love can never be arranged for her. This character somehow differs from the others we meet in the book. By the end of the story, we are no longer with Sang, but with Paul, more or less, the narrator of the story.

The second part weaves together different phases of two people, Hema and Kaushik. They lead separate lives, yet they are connected somehow in their journey. Their parents, once thick friends, now no longer relate to each other. Although they were both Bengali immigrant families, each viewed India as home in a different way. Hema’s family returned to the familiarity of India, whereas Kaushik’s parents escaped from the very same. Even after years, Hema and Kaushik feel totally at ease with each other. When they meet accidentally at a friend’s place, their parents are no longer the reason why they bind together. But then what is it, other than their past, that implies comfort between the two?

Lahiri writes each character as if she has known them for a long time. The reader feels the same, perhaps because each experience or emotion is something we all endure but forget or deny. Emotions are nothing if not expressed by words and fortunately there are writers like Jhumpa Lahiri who touch corners of our heart, acknowledge these feelings through their work. Human nature may not flourish in the same worn out soil, but then does anything at all, soothe the pain and dilemma which confirms the fact that it is not just change but also compromise that is inevitable.

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Asha writes for chillibreeze.

Book Review: Unaccustomed Earth

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