Lahiri, Jhumpa. Unaccustomed Earth . Penguin Random House, 2017. Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth is a commentary on the Indian diaspora. The characters in these stories are Indian immigrants who belong to the upper middle-class. They are very much American in every way but are burdened by their cultural past. The title story “Unaccustomed Earth” explores the complex relationship between a daughter and her father. “Only Goodness” tells the story of Rahul, a flawed son of successful parents, and his descent into alcoholism. “Hell-Heaven” is a story of troubled relationship between mother and daughter; it is also a story about a married woman (the narrator’s mother) who is troubled by cultural differences and the inability to acclimatize to a new lifestyle in a new country. “Nobody’s Business” is a complex love story of Paul and Sang. All these stories explore the identity crisis of Indian immigrants and their struggles to navigate through different cultures while t...
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