Jhumpa Lahiri
This is Jhumpa mashi’s (from her role in the cinematic version of ‘The Namesake) 🙂 third offering. The book consists of 8 works, the last three related to each other.
Melancholy, that’s always been my favourite takeout from her books, and this one does not disappoint on that front. But if you’re looking for anything beyond the regular Bengal and Boston chronicles, you are advised to look elsewhere. This book really reminds me of Interpreter of Maladies, her first book, though the premise of the stories (except the geography) do differ.
To briefly describe the stories, ‘Unaccustomed Earth’, the first story, is of a man who discovers interests after his wife’s death, and connects with his daughter in a way she’d never thought possible. ‘Heaven and Hell’ is a tale told by a woman who discovers her mother’s affection for a young Indian their family took under their wing. ‘A choice of accommodations’ is about a couple coming to terms with each other and their marriage, a sort of reigniting the spark, if you will. ‘Only goodness’ is a woman’s attempts to hold together her family, and her guilt over her role in her brother’s downward spiral. Nobody’s business is a story of a boy who loves a girl who loves a boy. 🙂 The last 3 stories trace the life of a man and a woman who appear in each others’ lives, as though pulled by fate. This was the one I liked best.
The above have been simplified to avoid messing up the plot and giving a warped perspective. I have noticed that with Jhumpa’s works, people have different takeouts.
Meanwhile, her eye for nuances and her subtle ways of expression make up for perhaps what can be roughly put as lack of depth in her characters.
But the stories are a compelling read, and are very human. While I’m by no means an ABCD (perhaps Confused Desi, but definitely not American Born) it is extremely easy to identify with the characters’ emotions, in spite of an alien setting. The kind of book I’d love to curl up with on a cold, dark, stormy night, with Coldplay in the background.
Melancholy, and the complexities of the human race!!