TBR

When I had purchased this book in January, I marked it as "permanent collection" because I was certain I would want it as a keeper. I loved Interpreter of Maladies by the same author, so I expected that this would be similar.

I found this book to be fairly average, but I liked the characters enough to finish the book. The plot was quite obvious or perhaps I've read too many books in this genre. I am not certain how I feel about this theme that I see in a lot of Indian-American literature--the children of Indian immigrants who initially forsake their heritage in favour of the American way and end up going back to the Indian way to find happiness. In this book, this theme was woven in, though not as obvious as other books I've read.

A lot of parents leave everything comfortable and known behind to make a better life for their children. A lot of people who do this remain very attached to their cultural group and don't want to leave that comfort zone. The children don't always appreciate what is being done for them and try to distance themselves from their parents. Children who have two contrary cultures influencing them are conflicted and can't figure out where their loyalties should be.

Perhaps this genre isn't about making a statement about what's the "right way". I would say that Jhumpa Lahiri was trying to make sense of this conflict and present what can happen even with everyone having the best of intentions.

I'm ready to release this one.