#20: The Third and Final Continent By Jhumpa Lahiri
Available: Interpreter of Maladies
Discussion: Atlantic Interview, March 2008
Always trust your instinct.
In this case, our instincts guided us to St. Kilda. On an autumn evening we had gorged on curries, pastas, salads and lassi at Soul Mama. Myself and Zia then had an overwhelming urge to gorge on something even more delicious; some perfectly formed, low-calorie short story collections.
Walking into the local independent bookstore of choice, we found writer, booklover and friend of the Gum Wall, A.S. Patric. It was one of those serendipitous moments you often find in Melbourne, but for me these moments usually involve cake, karaoke or a group of guys singing "Sweet Caroline" as we search for a taxi on Latrobe street.
Alec recommended two books for us, and although both are superb, Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies is so damn good that both me and Zia read it within a week, and are now looking for extra copies to give to the ones we love. Lahiri also won a Pulitzer for this collection, putting her amongst such esteemed company as Junot Diaz, Cormac McCarthy and Jane Smiley.
Though it's hard to pick a standout story, I'm going for the one that made me smile the most...it's the simple things that always get me the most.
The Story
A young Indian man comes to Boston to continue his studies at MIT. Having spent the last few years studying in the UK, he will soon invite his wife-to-be from an arranged marriage to live with him. First though, he moves in with Mrs. Croft, an old woman with a gruff manner, who likes her lodgers to always check if the front door is locked. She is also surprisingly besotted with the use of the word "splendid" and indeed implores her lodger to use the word himself.
Most nights he perches on the piano bench alongside Mrs. Croft, and at times it seems she is permanently fixed to the spot, forever in the same clothes. They also seem to have the same conversation with only slight variations, and yet still they enjoy each other's company.
To tell much more of this story is to discredit its subtlety, and to be honest, it's the type of story you must read for yourself, soaking up every detail, not always sure where the story is taking you, but guided by the accumulation of emotion as you read on.
Why It Sticks
For the first time, since starting The Gum Wall, I am at a loss to apply my usual criteria for story greatness. In many ways, this story is far removed from the free-form madness of Johnny Panic, the weirdness of Etgar Keret's Your Man, and the bleakness of Denis Johnson's Work.
.More than any other story I've reviewed here, The Third and Final Continent is something both smaller and larger at the same time. Like precious few others, Lahiri introduces beautiful characters that shine because they are so startingly like us, whatever their backgrounds or futures. There is a quiet humility in this story that challenges those who would ladle melodrama and discord in the hope of writing high quality, well-received fiction.
Why does it stick? Because stories like this feel right. They leave you lighter than when you started, yet even more aware of what is precious and sacred. Perhaps transcending here comes in the very act of connecting with the people around us; such are the small steps towards compassion and a letting go of expectations.
