'I wanted to pull away from the things that marked my parents as being different.' Growing up, Lahiri's loyalty to her parents conflicted with her desire to fit in: 'It didn't matter that I wore clothes from Sears I was still different. 'The accent, the fact that my mother wore traditional clothing - that marked them immediately as soon as we went out in the public sphere,' says Lahiri. Despite the fact that they spoke English, they were 'betrayed by their accents.' If the family went to buy a washing machine, the sales clerk would talk to Lahiri, assuming her parents couldn't understand. Lahiri says her parents were always isolated from mainstream American culture. 'But at the same time, for my parents, I don't think either of them will ever consciously think, 'I am an American.' '

'They've lived here now for more than half of their lives, and they raised a family here and now have grandchildren here. 'īut, she says, her parents never thought of themselves as American, despite the fact that they applied for and received citizenship. 'For me,' Lahiri tells Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep, 'there is sort of a half-way feeling. Born to Indian parents in London and raised in Rhode Island, the author of Unaccustomed Earth and The Interpreter of Maladies says she's struggled for four decades to feel like she belonged in America. Nationality, tradition and belonging: The themes of Jhumpa Lahiri's fiction spring from the complexities of the author's own life. The answers come from three noted authors - Junot Diaz, Jhumpa Lahiri and Joseph O'Neill - who've written about newcomers to the United States. Jumpha Lahiri Reads From And Discusses 'Unaccustomed Earth'ĭuring this week of Thanksgiving - the most American of holidays - NPR is spending time thinking about what it means to become an American.

Jhumpa lahiri maladies