Explanatory of The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai - Essay Example

Jemubhai Patel is an embittered judge, wounded by his past, which holds both hurtful and glorious memories. It is ironic how much love he can shower on an animal, his pet dog, while he regards other people with distrust. He has shut himself off from all human contact. Sai is the youthful granddaughter who somehow tames Patel’s otherwise dark persona with her feistiness and curiosity. She reminds him of himself when he was a youth. Sai is one person who gives hope that her grandfather will ultimately come out of the tough shell he has built around himself.

The cook, Biju’s father is the traditional, superstitious and chatty helper awed by the allures of modernization and is bent on his son to realize the American dream. It is through this cook’s voice that the reader learns a parallel story about love and loss. Patel’s neighbors, Lola and Noni are Anglophiles who might be savvy readers of V.S. Naipaul but who are, perhaps, less aware of how fragile their own social standing is--at least until a surge of unrest disturbs the region. The title of the book is so intriguing.

When one hears of an inheritance, it is usually something so precious, so cherished that the next generation anticipates it to be bequeathed with pride and honor. Desai’s Inheritance of Loss truly reflects her adeptness for irony. True, the pathetic state of loss can be inherited and may be passed on to future generations, but how can anyone anticipate such a dreadful fate? The story is delivered in such a compelling way that the reader understands the process of loss of cultural identity being passed on from the elders to the young.

The book tells of different stories but anchors its base on Kalimpong in the at the foothills of Mount Kanchenjunga in the northern Himalayas, specifically in the decaying cottage named Cho Oyu, the household of Jemubhai Patel, who lives with his granddaughter, Sai and his beloved dog, Mutt. The