Recommended Reading

Author: Maddie Oatman

Set in Kalimpong, India and Manhattan in the mid 1980's, Desai's "Inheritance of Loss" presents a sharp satire that addresses larger political issues, cultural misunderstandings and social injustices in both India and the United States. She resists a flat portrayal of globalization and colonialism by weighing both their damage and immense influence on contemporary Indian culture, and also the influence of immigrants on American culture. Perhaps more importantly, though, Desai shows how power struggle exists in the confines of a house or within a single relationship. Chickens in a yard become metaphors for both the gravity of war and an argument between lovers. Her poetic language and humor urge the reader to consider how humans can both create and overcome problems as vast as the Himalayas or as intimate as a single touch. "The Inheritance of Loss" traces how a single miscommunication or selfish act can snowball into a sea of suffering, yet Desai's stunning language and lighthearted humor keep her story and characters afloat.

The novel yields a host of colorful characters. Perched at the base of the Himalayas, a gently decomposing house shelters a bitter judge, his innocent granddaughter Sai and their eager cook. Sai falls in love with her withdrawn Nepali tutor, Gyan, and begins an awakening out of the comfort of her isolated childhood. When unrest between Indians and Nepalis mars the idyllic mountain town of Kalimpog, Sai and Gyan are forced apart by forces out of their control, inherited disputes, and their own narrow pride - while struggling to escape their own rooted beliefs in order to overcome the barriers between them.

Across the world, the cook's son Biju struggles to both make a living and maintain his cultural identity in the melting pot of Manhattan. His experience in various restaurants highlights his refusal to sacrifice his heritage in favor of the capitalistic sacrifices many make in the United States, and coupled with his discomfort as an immigrant, he ultimately rejects the country.

Desai's writing reveals a passion for detail, allowing her to overcome the oversimplification that hinders authors when they tackle the theme of colonialism. The novel's inclusion of so many ethnicities, from British to Indian, Nepali to Arab, more often pokes a satirical finger at all nationalities rather than proclaiming one better than the next. The American, fast-food fed and ignorant of the outer world, is no worse than an aging Indian judge sipping tea and crumpets amidst beggars and drunks. If Desai does become redundant by too often spelling out certain dichotomies, we forgive her because she at least deepens these contrasts and allows her characters to reveal inner flaws as well as embody outer problems.

The "Loss" referred to in the title of the novel shows itself in almost every facet of the story. Sai, engrossed in the melancholy of her relationship, asks: "Could fulfillment ever be felt as deeply as loss? Love was the ache, the anticipation, the retreat, everything around it but the emotion itself." Similarly, the cook and his son ache at the distance between them, and worry that "they were no longer relevant to each other's lives except for the hope that they would be relevant."

The scars enacted by different types of loss survive through generations. Desai's characters either wither away under the weight of these scars, or they undergo personal transformations significant enough to release them into the territory of a potentially progressive future. Desai's brilliant detail, deeply explored characters, and captivating setting certainly justify the novel's critical acclaim and popular success, and the novel is a must-read for those interested in cross-cultural comparisons and international literature.