Unaccustomed Earth

Author: Jhumpa lahiri,
Publisher: Random House Inc
Publish date: Apr 2008
Format: Hardcover
333 pages




As a brief opening to the review, I must say I was inspired and eager to be a part of the "Thoughtful Thursdays" series from Lakshmusings, since it began. And, after missing the first two, I was determined to participate this time, 'third time is a charm' after all! And, once I set out to acquire the book, I found, it was exceptionally elusive. A few bookstores and libraries were visited; in the end, a chance visit to a library far away did the trick!

I had heard of the book from a colleague at work, who thought I might be able to enjoy it and/or identify with the characters, given my background. And, here I want to mention that I am always one to avoid such readings, where I think the characters or scenarios would be similar to the life and situations I am used to. My logic being, why spend time to read about something I know firsthand. I guess it may sound narrow minded and selfish to think that way. But, this time I was willing to take that chance and picked up the book. I am pleased to admit that right from the first few pages, it kept me completely engrossed.

The stories, as were described, involve a myriad of complex human emotions, however, the one common sentiment that ran through all of them was sadness, sometimes obvious and at other times implied. Starting with Ruma, in the presence of her dad, in the garden, to Hema in an unknown country, there were various characters, in various stages of life, going through various challenges. Some of the stories brought a smile, while others caused a lump in the throat and some others were just words in a page.

I am a hard reader to please now-a-days, for no other reason than a severe lack of time (if I spend time reading, I always hope it'd be enjoyable), but I found this was a page turner and an easy read. In addition, I was impressed by the flow of the stories. I could almost feel like I was watching the events unfurl - a very visual style, which I liked. Another thing I noticed was the extent of details, at times. A few geographic locations in the book were familiar to me and I thought the descriptions were pretty realistic. I wonder if that made the book more interesting, the fact that I could also identify the places where the events took place. Like, how as a kid, I used to be fascinated, if a place I knew was shown in movies.

On a related note, I was taken by the quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne about how it is necessary to move away from your comfort zone and "strike [their] roots into unaccustomed earth" as he puts it. On the personal front, it sort of reinforced what I(we) am(are) doing, though I am not sure reinforcement was needed.

In the end, a little part of me that was searching long and hard for a happy ending was left unsatisfied. And, I wish a few of them ended differently.

Overall, it was a really good book, and I would recommend it as a distinct read.