From Harlem to the Himalayas

The Inheritance of Loss

Author:

Kiran Desai

Published:
Penguin 2006

Number of Pages:
324

Review:
For a book with “loss” in the title I was expecting to end this book with a sense of nostalgia, sadness and fall into an ultimate depression for the two and a half days it would have taken me to recover. Surprisingly this is not the case with Kiran Desai’s novel “The Inheritance of Loss.”

A winner of the Man Booker Prize for 2006, although I have not read the other novels short listed, I do believe Desai has written a book worthy of that title (despite the controversy surrounding a fixed vote by her mother). Loss is present in every city, in every character, in every chapter; however, it is often offset with dry humour and wit. Appropriately titled, the sense of loss is being passed down from one generation to the other.

The story starts off in a Darjeeling, India during the Gorkhaland Movement in which the conflicts of the Nepali-Indians have escalated into a civil riot and takeover of the city in which our two main characters live: the sixteen year old orphan Sai and her android-esque grandfather Jemubhai the Judge. When Sai’s parents unexpectedly died in a car crash in Russia her only family left alive was her grandfather who grudgingly took her into his home. The judge is often left in a state of hatred for all things Indian which in flashbacks reveal that he was in fact often ridiculed and ignored in Britain as he studied law at Cambridge. At the time of his arrival in England, the British were not in favour of those with coloured skin and he was often the scorned victim of brute jokes about his smell or colour. This hatred of himself has been implemented to the point that hatred defines his character, passing his hatred on to those whom are closest to him, especially his wife.

“By the year’s end the dread they had for each other was so severe it was as if they had tapped into a limitless bitterness carrying them beyond the parameters of what any individual is normally capable of feeling. They belonged to this emotion more than to themselves, experienced rage with enough muscle in it for an entire nations coupled in hate.” Sai, on the other hand, is young and naive and her liveliness is a bright point in the novel. Her intrigue in the world, in people and in love makes this story what it is. Her curiosity shifts the focus from hatred to budding life and intelligence. Her love of National Geographic and literature has made her ideals and morals childlike, romantic and not yet matured. Yet despite the childlike innocence surrounding Sai, it is clear that she is inevitably doomed to live a life of loss, like her grandfather.“Sai thought of how it had been unclear to her what exactly she longed for in the early days at Cho Oyu, that only the longing itself found its echo in her aching soul. The longing was now gone, she thought, and the ache seemed to have found its substance.”

The supporting characters each have their role to play and provide a further sense of loss to the audience reading. The cook, lost in his memories, lives and cares for Sai and her grandfather and provides Sai with the support and comfort of a caretaker. He often reminisces about the past and his mind wanders to that of his son Biju, who is lost in the city of opportunities. Biju is a continent away, trying to survive as an illegal immigrant in New York. He is bullied, exploited and alone in the fast paced city, away from everything he knows, he is almost a mirror image of the younger Jemubhai, alone and ridiculed in a foreign country. There is Gyan, Sai’s first love interest. Gyan is smart, witty and misguided in his priorities when he gets sucked into the Gorkhaland Movement and eventually loses himself in the politics. And then there is India herself, lost in independence and freedom, she is unravelling without the guidance, intelligence, political stability and longevity of fellow independent countries.

Although it is set in a political conflict the novel fails to take sides in the argument and thus it portrays a clear and objective look at India as well as its characters. Beautiful prose, wonderful descriptions and intelligent insight, Desai has created a masterpiece, a piece of Desi literature that will forever enlighten intellectual thinkers regardless of ethnicity or race.

Happy Reading!!!