Comments on: Unaccustomed Earth

By: Globalization and Asian Americans « The Post-Assimilationist

Globalization and Asian Americans « The Post-Assimilationist — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 15:26:11 +0000

[...] American literature out there, the interest in Asian Americans’ racial countries of origin mostly relates to family and assimilation — which is fine, though exclusively personal. Is this driven by the general background of [...]

By: Kunal Sen

Kunal Sen — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:46:03 +0000

"It's very difficult to achieve greatness in the short story format "

I have one word for you- 'Salinger' !

'Nine Stories' is pretty darn closest to perfection in writing (if there were such a thing as that)

'For Esme with Love and Squalor' enough is to render the collection its stature of greatness. Then there are the usualy suspects- Chekov, Tolstoy....

Borges is always inventive and fun. I like Kafka's novellas better

Coming back to 'Unaccustomed Earth':-

The BEST story for me was 'Hell- Heaven'- one of the shortest but what an reminisce of a secret, unspoken, simmering, unrequited romance. The second favorite was 'Year's End'- the middle instalment in the Hema- Kaushik trilogy- it's actually three rather independent stories loosely put together to form a long short story. The titular story is amazing as well. I was indifferent towards 'Only Goodness' and 'Choice of Accomodations'. I liked 'Nobody's Business' the least 'Going Ashore'- especially the way it ends, wraps up the book really well

I'd rate this higher than Interpreter where I think apart from 'A Temporary Matter' (outstanding) and the titular story, none of the material approached greatness

By: ber

ber — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:04:22 +0000

I didnt like Unaccustomed Earth.

I feel as if its the same set of characters with different names struggling to fit into America or whichever the foreign land is.

Is it just me or has anyone noticed how bland these set of stories are in comparison to her previous collection, "Interpretor of Maladies". The only one story that kind of made sense in the whole collection was Hell-Heaven. It had a good plot and a knockout finish.

I hope Jhumpa's next book is better than this.

By: DJ

DJ — Fri, 09 May 2008 20:50:58 +0000

While there is no question about Ms Lahiri’s talent as a writer, I find the underlying sense of inferiority that seems to exist in most of her Indian and Indian-American characters rather exhausting.. while this initially evokes sympathy in the reader, it is soon replaced by apathy, and later irritation. I find missing in her stories, the sheer pride that a lot of newer Indian immigrants like me, and lot of my peers take, in having beaten the odds, and creating fulfilling lives in a foreign land. While she may be reflecting her own experiences in this country, on her characters, as a member of a minority community in a foreign land, I resent being painted on with the same broad brush. More of these people seem to spend a lot of their lives in twilight, as it were.. Sad that there dont seem to be other talented Indian American writers who can write about the other facets of the Indian community’s experience here.

By: notconfused

notconfused — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:17:10 +0000

i read this SM post before i read the book, and at the time i didn't agree with criticism that her writing about bengalis in new england was a bad thing. i've read over half of the book (now in the midst of the Hema and Kaushik story) and i am really sick of this author! although i relish all things bengali, her characters ARE tired and whiney. every single story features an indian kid who NEEDS to turn away from his/her indian roots to find happiness in a non-indian. even in the story where an indian character dates a non-whitie, the boyfriend ends up being a controlling jerk and the good guy remains to be the white guy. i know interracial marriages are common these days, but is that really all she can write about? i can forgive her for sticking to a couple of themes she knows well (bengali, immigrant, new england, elite and educated, inter-racial couples) but she needs to spice it up a little rather than running down the checklist for every story she writes.

im guessing and hoping this last story ends a little differently! but of course, so far an indian kid is dating a white chick. vomit i really want to know what desi guy broke lahiri's heart so bad!

By: SP

SP — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:50:51 +0000

I think Jhumpa is probably most appreciated by those who prefer emotional diversity to a diversity of setting. You have to be able to relate to the emotional situations she handles instead of looking for What Her Stories Say About the Indian Immigrant Experience, or else yes, you could find the repetitive themes boring.

By: Minkey Chief

Minkey Chief — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:29:07 +0000

Hmm, even if the movie had the line "Play it again, Sam" it wouldn't be a dialogue unless it went:

Ilsa: Play it. Sam: Again? Ilsa: Sammm.

By: Praveen GK

Praveen GK — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:31:34 +0000

Unaccustomed Earth is certainly a brilliant read, and Jhumpa Lahiri, choses once again to handle the topics that she is so comfortable with!!! Certainly an emotional roller coaster, with brilliantly rendered sentences, bringing out a wide range of emotions!!!

By: chachaji

chachaji — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:01:42 +0000

114 Â· Floridian said

(Did you know "Play it again, Sam" was not a dialog ever used in the movie?)

The 'again' is not in the movie, Floridian; Minkey Chief had it right, back here. Or are you talking about something else altogether?

By: Gargoyle

Gargoyle — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:22:34 +0000

Floridian,

I'm not talking about her subject matter. What she writes about is not as important as how.

And there lies the problem! The phenomenon of reviewing/judging a book by it's subject matter more the quality of the writing/thought/treatment is a scourge that affects every release from a "foreign" community (from Irish to South African to Afghani to Indian).

I guess for me Lahiri does not have the quality that convinces me that it's the inner voice.