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Showing reviews 106-110 of 119
 "My children ... shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth." April 18, 2008
Gregory Baird (Morristown, NJ)
36 out of 47 found this review helpful
Ever since the publication of her mesmerizing, Pulitzer Prize winning debut collection, Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri has established herself as one of modern fiction's most powerful voices. The stories in that collection showcased what was to become Lahiri's trademark: acute psychological observations, eloquent writing, detailed descriptions, and a fiercely intelligent structure. As in poetry, each word feels carefully chosen, yet the overall ease with which the narratives flow belies the effort that undoubtedly went into them. "Interpreter of Maladies" also served to debut Lahiri's dominant theme in that each story featured Indian characters struggling to adapt to new surroundings after immigrating to the U.S. Her sophomore effort, The Namesake: A Novel expanded this theme into a wonderful full-length novel about the gap between a boy born and raised in America and his immigrant parents, who cling to their old traditions and ways of life. Lahiri, who was herself born in London but raised in New England, has made a career out of telling stories of cultural displacement, and until now she never once faltered when it came to crafting a powerful story.
"Unaccustomed Earth" marks Lahiri's return to the short story format, and while I had been looking forward to it with high anticipation, the product is surprising. Perhaps Lahiri succeeded at the transition from short stories to novels a little too well, because suddenly it feels like she has much more to say in an all-too-limited page count. The shortest story in the collection is "Hell-Heaven," which at twenty-four pages would have been right at home in "Interpreter of Maladies," and while it is one of the better offerings it feels clipped, as though there was so much more to say and not enough time to say it. Instead, the stories in "Unaccustomed Earth" verge on novella territory, allowing Lahiri to indulge in the slow-burn style she perfected in "The Namesake". The last three stories interlock to tell a single story in three parts, completing this effect. There aren't many authors who are at their best when they take their time, but Lahiri seems to be one of them. But this is a minor complaint.
I do, however, have more pointed concerns after reading Lahiri's latest work. Firstly, she seems to have acquired a taste for the melodramatic that doesn't suit her elegant style at all. Lahiri's writing is always very restrained when it comes to emotions, which is one of her strong suits, so when she indulges in plot contrivances such as alcoholism and abusive relationships it feels forced and more than a little jarring. Quiet desperation is more apt for her style; it is what makes it feel so authentic. Melodrama makes it feel theatrical. The high points of "Unaccustomed Earth" are its beginning and ending, "Unaccustomed Earth" and the saga of Hema and Kaushik, which notably steer clear of these plot elements. Luckily, Lahiri seems incapable of writing anything that doesn't maintain a grip on realism, but it still felt out of place to this reader.
Secondly, Lahiri's characters are starting to suffer from a degree of sameness. Perhaps that is why she infused the melodrama that I just discussed into the collection's middle section, but the fact that each character seems to have an ivy-league education and a doctorate and strikingly similar back stories still begins to feel stultifying.
Despite these complaints, Lahiri remains one of the most psychologically astute writers out there, and her keen plotting and pointed observations make "Unaccustomed Earth" tower head and shoulders above most other literary offerings. And even though I feel warier about what direction her next book will take, I still have the utmost faith in her abilities and look forward to it with the same degree of anticipation that I waited for "Unaccustomed Earth".
Grade: B+
Is it just me, or do Lahiri's (typically Indian-American residents of the northeastern US) characters tend to have a PhD? April 17, 2008
Julee Rudolf (Oak Harbor, WA USA)
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
Recent Brooklyn transplant to a Seattle suburb near Lake Washington thirty-eight-year old Ruma (attorney-at-law), a twelve weeks pregnant stay-at-home mother of a three-year-old, lives with her non-Indian husband (MBA) who is away on business. Her father (PhD in biochemistry), who recently lost his wife and embarked on a series of group tours during which he became involved with a Bengali woman (PhD in statistics), stays with his daughter as a sort of vacation from vacationing. But the story of their relationship is overshadowed by unusual plot choices in statement or occurrence. Unlikely although not impossible (I looked them up): her mother's odds defying cause of death, the chances of taking a day trip to Victoria, B.C. with a youngster (over four hours one way), the fact that her exceedingly capable father can't locate himself a post office, and that he is forced to quit gardening one due to the presence of mosquitoes. As well, he writes to a friend (p 50) "no rain here [in Seattle] in summer." Equally ridiculous are Ruma's ruminations related to her three-year-old son. She complains that he (p 10) "would throw himself without warning on the ground" and, not having told him about her pregnancy, "was convinced he'd figured it out already." And although the adults use their hands to eat traditional Indian food, he's not allowed because: (p 22), "this was something Ruma had not taught him to do." She even laments her father's grandfatherly care, complaining that (p 38), "He had not paid this sort of attention" when she and her brother (a Fulbright scholar) were growing up. Thankfully, things get better when the author moves to more familiar territory.
Hell-Heaven, narrated by an Indian-American girl, is about an intelligent Bengali man (studying engineering at MIT) who is welcomed into her family and acts like an uncle to her. The girl's married infatuated mother becomes jealous of his relationship with a non-Indian student (of philosophy, parents are professors). In Choice Accommodations (my least favorite), an Indian-American man (managing editor of a medical journal, his father, an ophthalmologist) returns to the town where he went to an all-male boarding school to attend the wedding of the daughter of the school's headmaster. His non-Indian wife (an M.D.) accompanies him. Only Goodness (my favorite story because of its utterly imperfect characters) follows the relationship between Indian-American siblings: a young man's descent into alcoholism and the guilt-ridden, successful sister (masters in International Relations, Economics, her husband, an India born Englishman, has a PhD in art history) who believes she started him on that path. Nobody's Business, told from the perspective of a PhD candidate in Literature, tells of his infatuation with a 30-year-old Bengali girl (majoring in philosophy at NYU) and her Egyptian commitment-phobic boyfriend of three years (a Harvard Middle Eastern history professor).
Part Two contains three related stories. The first, Once in a Lifetime, is narrated by one of two recurring characters, a 13-year-old girl (her Dad has a PhD), who, in 1981, is forced to give up her room for a month for the other recurrer, a 16-year-old boy, and his parents (Dad has a PhD in Civil Engineering), who plan to move back to the States. The last time they had seen each other was four years previously when her mother held a going away party for his family. Her mother is disappointed in the apparent change (for the worse) in his mother's behavior. The story ends with the revelation of a family secret. The second, Year's End, picks up a couple of years later, this time from the young man's view. He visits at Christmas and tries to fit in to a new family situation. The final story, Going Ashores, alternates between the lives of each of the two characters. She (a PhD) is visiting Rome while awaiting her wedding, an arranged marriage (to a physics professor at Michigan State, PhD). He (college grad) is also there. They meet unexpectedly through a mutual acquaintance and reestablish a relationship.
Overall, the stories were excellent. I especially liked Only Goodness and those about Hema and Kaushik (except that the first was written as if Hema were speaking directly to Kaushik directly - and vice versa for the second). Unaccustomed Earth, although perfectly titled, is not as good as Interpreter of Maladies, but far better than The Namesake. Also good, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.
 A true gem April 15, 2008
Sadie Castor (PA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
When I saw the advertisement for this book in a magazine, I bought it the very next day. After reading both The Namesake and Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri has found a permamnent place in my list of authors to read and recommend. In Unaccostomed Earth, she writes candidly about the everyday and mundane. Her work is relatable yet sophisticated; dependable, and surprising all at once. I give this book, as well as all of her work, five stars.
Enticing but a little stilted in characterization April 15, 2008
S. Lobo (Boston)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I agree with much of what is said in the glowing reviews of Lahiri's writing. However, I must add that there is something a little false and contrived (and immensely irritating to me as an Indian) about the constant emphasis on name-brand schools and 'professional' status. I wonder if Lahiri is (temporarily, I hope) succumbing to the grandiosity that afflicts the self-appointed 'elite' of all cultures and nations.
 Pleasant, but not brilliant prose April 14, 2008
Kay (New York City)
94 out of 116 found this review helpful
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.
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