Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

My review

Because there's more to life than business books, and because I read more fiction than books of the business variety, today I'm trying something new and posting a review of my latest read fiction, a book of stories by Jhumpa Lahiri (2008 by Knopf Canada, 224 pages).

Also, I'll plug my online book club here, which contains my reviews of both regular old books and business books. It's a great way to find new books to read.
Check out my reading list on Goodreads - where you can see what your friends are reading:
http://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?i=LTM2MDcwNTQzNDA6MjU3%0A

Like Lahiri's first collection of stories, The Interpreter of Maladies, each intricately-woven tale is like a gorgeous jewel that you feel you're the first to discover. The theme of "unaccustomed earth" - of families displaced and children who grow up torn between two cultures - pervades each of the stories, none of them very short. I liked that the last three stories are linked and are told from the viewpoint of a girl and boy who meet in childhood then later as adults. It's comforting, compelling to travel with them through the sometimes painful parts of their lives, to meet up with them again, years older, in the next tale. Even if, and especially if, there is no happy ending.

Lahiri's writing is unexpected, rich and stunning. I can't wait 'til her next book.


View all my reviews.