THE INHERITANCE OF LOSS

The Inheritance of Loss, a book by Kiran Desai, tells the story of two characters, one living in the US illegally and one residing in the mountains of India, and the conflict between the traditions of the Indian way of life and the shiny luxury of England and the US.

The story opens with Sai, a well-educated Indian girl who lives with her grandfather in Sikkim, India. It is a conflict time because ethnic Nepalese want to separate from India and have their own country. Her grandfather is a judge and part of the upper class. They are robbed one day of their food, weapons, and liquor.

Sai’s grandfather has watched over her since her parents died. He took her in to fulfill a spiritual debt he took on when he left his wife and eventually killed her. He struggles with this guilt, wanting to leave behind the traditions of India, but unable to integrate fully into English life. Sai falls in love with her tutor, Gyan. They fail to consummate their love, however, because of their differing social class.

The cook of the house watches over them to make sure that Gyan does not take advantage of Sai’s heart.He also worries about his son, Biju, who lives in the US illegally. He received a visa to the US, but he stayed long after it was over, working in kitchens for daily wages. Because of his status, he is abused and taken advantage of. One particular boss runs him ragged, though he is also Indian. The experience breaks Biju, and he decides to take his earnings and return to India.

Throughout the book, the political situations worsen for each character. They are consumed with guilt about how they have led their lives so far. It is a turbulent novel; every character seeks redemption but does not quite receive it.

Much of the novel deals with the effects of colonialism in the wake of England’s official withdraw from many of its colonies. Many Indians were fascinated by the English way of life, which seemed to offer more opportunities than what they felt was the state of India.

India’s class system is also at play for all of the characters. The judge and his granddaughter Sai are upper class Indian. As such, they have been educated and have lived in the West. This experience causes the grandfather to resent his Indian background, going so far as to wear white powder to try to hide his features. He returns home to his wife, but she reminds him of what he left behind, and he spends the rest of her life abusing her, full of contempt.

Sai and Gyan are in love, but they cannot be together because he is ethnic Nepalese. Although his family worked in the Army, this is not good enough to marry across class lines. They are together in the house but utterly separated by social status.

Biju, despite his father’s tall stories of his wealthy life in America, lives in the same squalor he hoped to leave when he came to the country. His visa is expired, and he works for almost nothing. It is a struggle every day to survive, find food and shelter. This experience betrays what he hoped lay in store for him. After struggling, and finally subjected to abuse by a fellow Indian, he gives up this dream and returns to his father.

Another theme of the book is this very isolation. The judge, his granddaughter, the cook, and the tutor bond during the events of the robbery, but they are unable to sustain a true relationship. All their guilt and worries they shoulder alone. Even though the fear and guilt are common among them, including in Biju, everyone remains isolated. The judge treats the cook much the same as the cook’s son is treated in America. The only ones to cross the line are Gyan and Sai, but even then, India’s rigid class system prevails.

Each character wrestles with two worlds: traditional India and Western culture. The judge despises his Indian traditions and is more Western now than Indian. Although he is never accepted into English society, Indian society treats him as a part of this Western culture. This rejection further isolates him as he is home in neither place. Biju, on the other hand, comes from a lower class and hoped to escape stigmas by coming to America. He discovers that neither of these worlds offers him the escape he hoped for and he ultimately chooses to belong to his traditions.

The book is a haunting look at how cultural expectations, isolation, and the search for one’s  identity can keep us in a circle of guilt and searching. By losing respect for their traditional customs, some of the characters in the book are left adrift in two worlds that never fully embrace them. They learn throughout that no act can assuage a guilt placed on our hearts by our own hands

All together the book delivers its content very directly to its readers and a must read for those who love fictions and such stories.