Paul doesn't know how to tell Sang, so when she finds out, and when she learns that he already knew and failed to tell her, they have a falling out, but eventually, they resolve their conflict and confront Farouk together.

Paul learns that Farouk has taken Deirdre as his lover whenever he travels to Vancouver.

Her roommate, Paul gets a call from a woman named Deirdre while Sang is away, and also while the other roommate, Heather, is away. Sangeeta, or Sang for short, is very desirable, and she has to spend her time turning away suitors, even though she is with Farouk, the Egyptian. Eventually, Rahul's thirst for alcohol drives a wedge between them. At Sudha's wedding, he disgraces himself by drinking too much, and the story goes on to outline the difficult relationship between Rahul, a prodigal type character, and his more successful sibling, Sudha. Rahul too becomes engaged, but the family is hesitant and unsure. Rahul lives with his parents working a job that isn't glamorous. He ends up not making it through school, but Sudha is thriving, more or less, with hopes of a good career and her engagement to Roger. But later, Sudha learns that alcoholism might be a reason that Rahul isn't doing well at Cornell. Sudha and Rahul are going back to their parent's house, and Rahul convinces Sudha to sneak some booze into the home so that they can have some fun, so she does. They end up consummating their love regardless. He admits drunkenly that maybe he doesn't feel that much for Megan. This story centers around the idea that the two worlds, America and India, are so drastically different that it causes confusion and loneliness.Īmit and Meg find themselves aloof and apart in their relationship, perhaps because the wedding they're attending is Amit's former love interest. The father of the family, Shyamal da, seems emotionally confused, and Pranab himself resonates with that confusion. MIT grad student Pranab from Calcutta sees a young girl named Usha with her Bengali mother, and he decides to make friends with them because he misses his homelands. This story highlights the confusing tensions that exist in gender roles in immigrant communities. Ruma, the daughter, has stopped working to take care of the home and family, but her father wonders if that's the right choice. This intergenerational story tells of a widower visiting his daughter in Seattle. Here are the summaries for each story in this collection of short stories. Written by Aarthi Aarthi and other people who wish to remain anonymous We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

Unaccustomed earth