Unaccustomed Earth
First edition
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| Author | Jhumpa Lahiri |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Short Stories |
| Publisher |
Alfred A. Knopf (US) Bloomsbury Press(UK) Random House (India) |
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Publication date
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April 2008 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 331 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 213382533 |
| Preceded by | The Namesake |
| Followed by | The Lowland |
Unaccustomed Earth is a collection of short stories from Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri. This is her second collection of stories, the first being the Pulitzer-winning Interpreter of Maladies. As with much of Lahiri's work, Unaccustomed Earth considers the lives of Indian American characters and how they deal with their mixed cultural environment. It made number one on the New York Times Book Review list of "10 Best Books of 2008" as chosen by the paper's editors. It also won the 2008 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.
The title story of the book is about the family relationships between three generations: the father, his daughter, Ruma, and her son, Akash. The father, a retiree and recent widower, visits his daughter's new home in the suburbs of Seattle. Ruma has left her successful legal career to raise children, and her husband works hard to support the family. Although more traditional her father tries to persuade her to continue her legal career while being a mother. The father was somewhat unhappy with his once-traditional lifestyle and is enjoying his newly found independence in his travels and a relationship with a new female friend. The father and the daughter have limited communication, both afraid to acknowledge they have moved away from their Bengali culture and have embraced aspects of the American culture. Akash, the grandson, is completely immersed in American culture but becomes fascinated by his grandfather's habits, such as his language, that are foreign to him.
The story explores gender roles in America and family issues associated with Ruma's Bengali heritage, including her sense of obligation to care for her father and have him live with her and her immediate family. Also present is the dilemma of coming between another person's happiness, a situation Ruma encounters when she learns of her father's mistress.
Pranab Chakraborty, a graduate student at MIT, is contemplating returning to Calcutta due to homesickness. On the streets of Boston he sees a little girl, Usha, and her traditional Bengali mother Aparna. He follows them and ends up befriending them. Aparna, herself homesick and lonely, empathizes with Pranab and is happy to feed him. Pranab Kaku ("Uncle Pranab") becomes a regular visitor at their house and calls Aparna as "Boudi" (meaning "elder brother's wife"). Over time Aparna looks forward eagerly to Pranab's visits and develops a unique kind of love towards him. Adding to the situation is Usha's father's (Shyamal da) aloof and detached attitude towards her mother. Aparna's love for Pranab turns into jealousy when Pranab brings home an American woman, Deborah, whom he eventually marries. Aparna continuously blames and criticizes Deborah, stating that it is just a matter of time before Deborah leaves Pranab. After twenty-three years Deborah and Pranab finally divorce. The story also recounts the unique mother-daughter relationship that develops between Aparna and Usha; after many struggles and squabbles, Aparna placates her daughter by relating her own experiences about a foolish decision that she would have made.
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