A good book group read.

I read this book for a book group that I was leading. We had not realised that they were short stories when the book was recommended so I was a bit concerened how it would fit into a book group setting. I need not have worried, the discussion was enthusiastic and varied, and everyone felt that it was a four / five star collection. The only minor problem was recalling the details of all the individual stories as we worked our way though, but we helped each other out here and found that between us we could fill in most of the details.

The theme of displacement was one we could all relate to, being ex-pats from around the world. Also the idea of making friends with people from all walks of life, with just our nationality in common. There was, however, a feeling that some of the characters lacked definition, hence the four, rather than five star rating.

Personally I favoured the triad of interconnected stories at the end. Here we had a chance to get to know the characters a little better and the ending was memorable - something that some of the other stories lacked.
I'm looking forward to reading Namesake, Ms Lahiri's only full length novel. Having sampled her short stories I'm keen to see how she developes her characters in this medium.

Recommended, especially for lovers of short stories. ( )

Have not read the second part.

I adored this collection of short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri. At the writing of this review, I have not yet read her other works but am looking forward to doing so.

Jhumpa Lahiri is Indian-American; more specifically from a Bengali background. She draws from this background as a basis for most of her short stories. Most of the characters in her stories– in this book, anyway– are Bengalis that have moved to America, or at the very least are Indian.

This book consists of two parts.

Part One consists of the five following stories:

“Unaccustomed Earth” : A young mother hopes that her widowed father will move in with her and her growing family; but finds out he does not want to, and the reason why.

“Hell-Heaven”: A young girl observes the relationship between her parents and a family friend, and comes to realize that her mother was actually in love with the family friend for many years.

“A Choice of Accommodations”: A man attends the wedding of a girl he grew up with and adored. The man’s wife also attends the wedding with him.

“Only Goodness”: About a woman dealing with her alcoholic brother and coming to grips with how, and why, he became that way.

“Nobody’s Business”: About two roommates, male and female; and what happens when one is involved in an unhealthy relationship.

Part Two : Hema and Kaushik

“Once in a Lifetime”

“Year’s End”

“Going Ashore”

Part Two, above, actually seems more like a novella to me. It’s about Hema and Kaushik and was my favorite section of the book. Their characters and their story really stayed with me, and I actually went right back and re-read Part Two after finishing it.

Hema and Kaushik were sort-of childhood friends: Hema’s parents allowed Kaushik and his parents to stay at their house for a length of time while the latter were looking for a house to buy and move in. After Kaushik and his parents move out, the two children lose touch over time. Eventually, Hema and Kaushik meet again by chance, when they are adults and have had a lot of life experiences behind them.

The first part is told by Hema’s point of view. The second part is then told by Kaushik’s point of view. The last part is narrated objectively–that is, by neither of them. Until the very last few paragraphs, when it is Hema telling the story. The ending came somewhat as a shock to me.

Here is a passage, from when Hema and Kaushik have run into each other again after all those years:

“After lunch he drove her back, inviting her to his place, in a quiet neighborhood where laundry hung between apricot-colored houses and old men sat in folding chairs on the streets. The men watched, silently, as Kaushik unlocked the bolts and Hema waited at his side. It was unquestioned that they would not part yet, unquestioned that though they had not seen or thought of each other in decades, not sought each other out, something precious had been stumbled upon, a new-born connection that could not be left unattended, that demanded every particle of their care”.

I strongly recommend that you give this short story collection a try! ( )

I was somewhat disappointed with part one, pleased with the general quality of the writing and drawn in by the plot and character development, but growing weary of the seeming equation of Bengali + Non-Bengali + Rebellion = Story. Still, I stuck with the rest of the stories and have to say that part two, in its novella-like ability to develop even further, made up for any disappointment I had with the first 220 pages. I loved that each story stood on its own, with different points of view at different times of life, the stories eventually intertwining as the characters do. I would love to see Lahiri explore building characters without the staple of Bengali heritage, but I'm still excited to thumb through The Namesake and the rest of Interpreter of Maladies. ( )

brilliant character development. I enjoyed this and will read it again. ( )