Saturday, February 27, 2010

Review: Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai


The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai is a complex novel which weaves themes of class, family and the experience of living as an outsider into a beautiful narrative. The novel is primarily set in Kalimpong at the foothills of the Himalayas in the mid 1980's during the agitation in Nepal for the establishment of a Gorkha state. However, like many of it's characters, the novel straddles two lands - one of the main storylines is that of Biju who has emigrated from Kalimpong and is living in NYC. The counter to Biju's story of struggle as an immigrant in NYC is that of the Judge, the Judge's grand-daughter Sai and Biju's father, "Cook" all living in an isolated house in Kalimpong.

As unrest breaks out in Kalimpong over the establishment of a Gorkha state, Sai, Judge and Cook are all forced to face the upending of a hierarchy that has defined their lives, for better or worse. Desai expertly tells each of their stories, albeit in snippets throughout the novel, and connects them to each other bit by bit. Meanwhile, far away from the foothills of the Himalayas, Biju is living in a different kind of chaos waiting tables and eking out an existence as an illegal alien in NY. There are many themes in this novel but that of the immigrant's sense of dislocation is one that is dealt with especially well and one that really resonated for me. Desai addresses the loss felt by many immigrants in this scene in which Biju finishes a hurried phone call from a dirty street phone booth to his father :

He could not talk to his father; there was nothing left between them but emergency sentences, clipped telegram lines shouted out as if in the midst of war. They were no longer relevant to each other's lives except for the the hope that they would be relevant . . . After the initial excitement [of returning home] was over, it often became obvious that the love was gone; for affection was only a habit after all and people, they forgot, or they became accustomed to its absence.

The poignancy of Biju's sense of being alone in NY but realizing that he also does not really fit in at home is powerful. He desperately misses his father but also recognizes that his emigration, this fulfillment of his father's dream for him, has created a distance between them emotionally that will likely never be bridged. That loss is palpable.

Writing an adequate review of this novel is challenging - the story is ambitious in the many themes it takes on throughout the multi-layered narrative and doesn't lend itself easily to summary. There are many characters in the novel and the author hopscotches among them throughout the book; at times, the story meandered and I wondered where it was all headed. But Desai skillfully knits it all together as the novel approaches its climactic end. The characters, settings and most importantly, the story, has remained with me long after I finished the book - well worth wading through characters and meandering narrative!

BBC World Book Club did an excellent interview with Kiran Desai about Inheritance of Loss - the author even addresses how she struggled to hold all the characters together as she wrote the novel. You can listen to the interview by clicking below:

10 comments:

  1. Wow, this sounds really amazing, I would love to read it. I like reading novels about political conflict. I will add this to my wish list with a link to your review

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is one of those books I knew at some level was really, really good - for the writing, the characters and the multifaceted plot. But...I just couldn't find my way in. I think it was the structure - the sort of broken-up structure gives a bit of a choppy feeling to the narrative. Did you get that sense as well?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that quote; this sounds like a compelling read. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have this on my shelf and I've been meaning to read it for years. Perhaps I'll read it soon for the South Asian Author Challenge this year! Thanks for the review.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Greg - Yes, at times I felt like I needed to persist with the book because it was all over the place. I thought it was interesting that Desai admitted to feeling the same way in the interview!

    But it was worth persisting with it - I really enjoyed the book!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This sounds like the type of book I love! Even found a used copy (in excellent condition) at the library sale last summer, but I still haven't gotten to it. Must make the time...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey, just stopping by as host of the next book reviews blog carnival, to say great review! and thanks for the submission.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I really enjoyed this book and savored every moment of it.

    If you liked this one, you should also consider "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy - another masterpiece (that is if you have not read it already)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nishitak - thanks for the recommendation. I haven't read it yet but have it on order from Bookmooch. I'll stop by and let you know what I thought when I read that one!

    ReplyDelete
  10. look forward to reading this book,thanks for the review!

    ReplyDelete