18. Unaccustomed Earth

Unaccustomed Earth Jhumpa Lahiri
August 2009

Lahiri is most noted for authoring The Namesake, however she has received immense recognition over the past year for Unaccustomed Earth. In fact, several publications rated this as the book of 2008.

This book is broken down into eight different stories. All of which revolve around first or second generation Indian Americans. What I found most interesting was the way she carried certain characteristics from one character to the next in the different stories. It made it interesting but also slight confusing, such as when two characters were avid photographers.

I enjoyed the book, it was a quick read. However, I struggle to understand why it was praised so highly. It seems highly unlikely that there was not a better book released in 2008.