I started reading Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri close to a week back, and it being mostly short stories, helped me read it with comparative ease over the period of last week.
Now I have reached a portion which is a predominantly a longer short story giving the story of two Bengali kids who have grown up and then end up finding each other in Rome when each is at Rome for very different reasons. The girl is on her last single vacation and the guy is based in Rome as a photographer.
One of the aspects of this story is the predictability and also to some extent the similarity to the previous short stories in the book. All of them deal with Indians settled in the US in the age group of 26- 35years and how different they are as compared to their parents who would have migrated to the US in their early 30s, but all married and settled in life, hence leaving very little for change in their way of life. One tends to relate to the inhibitions parents have and the frustration grown up children face while having to explain matters to parents, who at their age having seen life in much more wider perspective, and who also seem to think all issues kids are faced with are either immaterial or of much lesser priority as compared to mainstream life.
When we read the first 2-3 short stories, we tend to feel what the author is trying to portray but on moving to the 5th or the 6th story you feel the lack of matter and the simple difference in settings and back drops creeping up as the story unfolds. Now towards the close of the book, it seems to be just a litany of differences between the two generations as seen from the author’s eyes.
At the end of some stories, there also seems to be a typical 'feel good end' which is 'listen to what your parents told you' !
When I think about some similar scenarios, the difference being I think some believe in voicing their opinions/ frustrations, and some of us listen, keep peace, and still continue to proceed with our lives as we see appropriate. This demarcation of thought will exist.
Though I believe that there is always the support and advise which one requires from parents, but under most circumstances we do tend to take our own decisions assessing pros and cons over time and finally with our fingers crossed!!!
