Unaccustomed Earth (summer reading post 4/5)

I finished Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth without ever glancing at the page numbers unless to keep my place, never anticipating the end. And even then, I would soon return to the book, as it captivated me in a way I am incapable of explaining. Each short story felt an eternity, yet too short causing me to yearn for more. I became distraught when the stories changed and the characters changed, as I wanted to learn more of what happens to the characters who've grown and changed under my reading eyes and moving on felt as if I was abandoning them. The cycle would repeat until Hema and Kaushik. It gave me what I was missing from the previous stories: had Ruma's father moved in with his daughter? Did Amit's and Megan's marriage actually remain intact as the ending alludes? In other words: an explicit conclusion.

But in another way, the end of part two was wholly unsatisfactory (as of five minutes after reaching the end). I am accustomed to any instance of romance ending happily for all protagonists involved, even after a period of hardship, struggle, or heartbreak. The abrupt divorce of Deborah and Pranab in the second short story was not ample psychological preparation. As unfortunate of a heartbreak as it was (both with Deborah and Usha's mother), it would not amount to a requited love abandoned at its climax. Even so, this novel ranks amongst the highest of my favorites and I wished it had not ended.

Upon revisitation a few weeks later, the end of the novel presents a harsh reality that can easily happen to anyone. Humans are fragile beings, no matter how much personal development they have gone through (as some authors who give ample character development before scripting their characters' deaths). Everything Kaushik had in his mind as possibilities of a future, whether with or without Hema, would never be realized, and Hema's future is one of lukewarm emotion, something she will apparently have to harbor for the rst of her life. Even for those of us who lead rich and honest lives can have them torn apart irreparably.