Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri, 2008) Grade: B+This is another impressive collection of short stories from the accomplished Indian writer, whose first collection, Interpreter of Maladies, won a Pulitzer and her first novel, The Namesake, was adapted for a film. Unaccustomed Earth again deals with the immigrant experience, the dual identities of its characters and the general experience of trying to find out who you are. The three-part story “Hema and Kaushik” was the stand-out for me, following two characters from childhood to adulthood. The title “unaccustomed earth” is from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Custom House, conveying the overall theme of the collection. Quote below.
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Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil. My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth.
I love Jhumpa Lahiri's work. Sublime.
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