The prowess of Jhumpa Lahiri as a storyteller shines through and through in her short story collection — “Unaccustomed Earth”, though for her fans it comes with recurring themes and same old characters. Jhumpa makes every story dance gracefully with old legs but for those finding new moves will be disappointed. The first part feels like reading Interpreter of Maladies all over again — no doubt her signature themes of immigration, relationships, friendships and love don’t take a hit but feels off. The book takes off with the final part — Hema and Kaushik. Narrated in 3 parts — it’s a story in which Jhumpa goes all guns blazing, through Hema and Kaushik, Jhumpa has magnificently shown that she can not only write about stories which are beyond immigration, cultural nostalgia and MIT crowd but she can write it better. For readers who are new to Jhumpa Lahiri, it’s a treat. For others, read it for the final story.
First story which is titled the same as the book is a typical story concerning generations of Bengalis living in US and their adaptation to the western culture. The other story “Hell Heaven” is analogous to Sexy from “Interpreter of Maladies” talking of desire to be loved and cared about. The rest 3 stories felt like page filling.
The final part is the cherry of this book. Hema and Kaushik will make you feel like you are experiencing a tornado of emotions and nostalgia with the intensity of a light breeze. From being childhood acquaintances to desiring each other in distressing times — Jhumpa carefully crafts a story which goes beyond her usual themes of immigration and cultural nostalgia.
