Unaccustomed Earth (Paperback)

Starred Review. The gulf that separates expatriate Bengali parents from their American-raised children—and that separates the children from India—remains Lahiri's subject for this follow-up to Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake. In this set of eight stories, the results are again stunning. In the title story, Brooklyn-to-Seattle transplant Ruma frets about a presumed obligation to bring her widower father into her home, a stressful decision taken out of her hands by his unexpected independence. The alcoholism of Rahul is described by his elder sister, Sudha; her disappointment and bewilderment pack a particularly powerful punch. And in the loosely linked trio of stories closing the collection, the lives of Hema and Kaushik intersect over the years, first in 1974 when she is six and he is nine; then a few years later when, at 13, she swoons at the now-handsome 16-year-old teen's reappearance; and again in Italy, when she is a 37-year-old academic about to enter an arranged marriage, and he is a 40-year-old photojournalist. An inchoate grief for mothers lost at different stages of life enters many tales and, as the book progresses, takes on enormous resonance. Lahiri's stories of exile, identity, disappointment and maturation evince a spare and subtle mastery that has few contemporary equals. (Apr.)
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“The kind of writer who makes you want to grab the next person you see and say, ‘Read this!’” – Amy Tan

“Wonderfully distinctive . . . a writer of uncommon poise.” – The New York Times

“Lahiri’s enormous gifts as a storyteller are on full display in this collection: the gorgeous, effortless prose; the characters haunted by regret, isolation, loss, and tragedies big and small; and most of all, a quiet, emerging sense of humanity.” – Khaled Hosseini, author of A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner

"Jhumpa Lahiri's new collection of stories overflows with insights about the secrets we can hide. While these stories examine the crossing and commingling of Indian and Western cultures, the feelings of pride, love, and loneliness ring true in any society. They are jewels." – Rosemary Pugliese, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC

“Lahiri extends her mastery of the short-story in a collection that has a novel’s thematic cohesion, narrative momentum and depth of character. . . . Some of her most compelling fiction to date. An eye for detail, ear for dialogue and command of family dynamics distinguish this uncommonly rich collection.” – Kirkus Reviews

“Stunning . . . The gulf that separates expatriate Bengali parents from their American–raised children — and that separates the children from India — remains Lahiri’s subject for this follow-up to Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake. . . . Lahiri’s stories of exile, identity, disappointment and maturation evince a spare and subtle mastery that has few contemporary equals.” – Publishers Weekly

“Pulitzer Prize—winning Lahiri returns with her highly anticipated second collection exploring the inevitable tension brought on by family life. . . . [Lahiri’s] ability to flesh out completely even minor characters in every story . . . is what will keep readers invested in the work until its heartbreaking conclusion.” – Library Journal

“The tight arc of a story is perfect for Lahiri’s keen sense of life’s abrupt and powerful changes, and her avid eye for telling details. This collection’s five powerful stories and haunting triptych of tales about the fates of two Bengali families in America map the perplexing hidden forces that pull families asunder and undermine marriages. . . . Lahiri’s emotionally and culturally astute short stories (ideal for people with limited time for pleasure reading and a hunger for serious literature) are surprising, aesthetically marvelous, and shaped by a sure and provocative sense of inevitability.” – Booklist

“Ferociously good . . . acutely observed . . . In exquisitely attuned prose, Lahiri notes the clash between generations . . . She is emotionally precise about her characters and the way the world appears to them . . . These are unforgettable people, their stories unforgettably well told.” – O, The Oprah Magazine

“A great book . . . to move you. Whether American or Bengali by birth, Lahiri’s protagonists valiantly walk a tightrope between personal choice and family expectation. Faltering or triumphant, each tugs at the heart.” – Good Housekeeping

“[Lahiri] explores with her modulated prose a full range of relationships among her subjects. So thoroughly and judiciously does she use detail that she easily presents entire lives with each story. These are tales of careful observation and adjustment.” – The Atlantic

“Dazzling . . . [Lahiri’s] comparisons with literary masters such as Alice Munro are well-earned. In these eight exquisitely detailed stories, Lahiri is less interested in painful family conflicts than in the private moments of sadness that come in their aftermath.” – More

“Lahiri’s finely drawn prose makes [Unaccustomed Earth] feel less like reading and more like peering into the most raw, intimate moments of people’s lives.” – Marie Claire

“Lahiri delves into the souls of indelible characters struggling with displacement, guilt, and fear as they try to find a balance between the solace and suffocation of tradition and the terror and excitement of the future into which they’re being thrust. . . . [Unaccustomed Earth] further establishes her as an important American writer.” – Bookforum

“Brilliant . . . Vividly imagined . . . In Unaccustomed Earth, Lahiri’s preternaturally mature voice has grown even more confident. . . . Her sharp and sympathetic observations are deeply considered, using memory, dialogue, and visual detail to capture family dynamics . . . Masterful.” – India Currents
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“Once you’ve started, you have to struggle not to set aside every other obligation and distraction until you’ve reached the end. . . . Lahiri’s prose is effortlessly articulate. Her stories move from one carefully wrought scene to another, often turning on a motif that appears earlier in the story.” – National Post

“[T]he emotional impact Lahiri achieves is not only underpinned by her mastery of detail, it’s inseparable from it. . . . [W]e are left in rapt anticipation of just where this great writer might go next.” – The Gazette

“A strain of the mythic that totally engages . . . Lahiri is note-perfect.” – Toronto Star


From the Hardcover edition.