Family Conflict in Unaccustomed Earth

     The nearly the entirety of Unaccustomed Earth centers around family conflict. This conflict is, in turn, centered around topics that are at points universal and at other times uniquely related to Bengali heritage. It is where these two paths intersect that the book becomes interesting and informative for an audience primarily made up of people that are not Bengali (understanding foreign customs, cultures, and family lives different from our own is often why we read). The diversity of family life Lahiri portrays and the importance she infuses even seemingly mundane events with makes it such a compelling work.
     Personally, my favorite story is the one from the perspective of Sudha as she deals with her brother Rahul. Her care and worry for her brother, whom she feels personally responsible for and for whose alcoholism she partially feels responsible, is heartwarming and deeply haunting. Her feelings might be influenced by her Bengali parent's encouragement of her to watch out for her brother and for the two of them to succeed, but anyone with a sibling can relate, no matter their ethnicity. Her conflict with her brother grows and grows over the course of the story until they seemingly reconcile and he goes to England. It is then, however, that he falls of the wagon and puts Sudha and Adam's child in danger, permanently severing any chance Sudha and Rahul have of really becoming close again. I like this story so much because of it's distinctly unhappy ending; it seems often times family stories conclude with the "prodigal son returning", but in the real world this often doesn't happen.
     The first section, between Ruma, her father, and Akash, was also interesting, but it felt as if Ruma was frustratingly passive in regards to her surroundings at time. I understand her relationship with her father was estranged and that she always was closer to her mother, but I still feel as if she could have fought harder for what she wanted. Part of loving your family is fighting for them, and Ruma didn't seem to do much fighting.
     Overall, the family dynamics in all of the stories seem incredibly reserved. There is very little overt argument, yelling, screaming, etc... The family conflict is largely insidious and quiet. The relationships between siblings, spouses, children/parents (or stand ins for these relationships, especially in the story of Pranab) often sour at some point and the air of the pretty much all the stories are melancholy or nostalgic. I can relate to this type of conflict to an extent because arguments within my family aren't usually passionate, but this almost completely lack of open conflict is still a bit bizarre, and only feeds itself because, when emotions aren't aired out, there's no way to get over them, and frustration just builds up.