Most of "Unaccustomed Earth" is written in third-person omniscient, and because of this the reader gets a more complete picture of each character. Lahiri includes characters thoughts, which help to bring the reader into the picture, but to me, it still feels as if I am watching over the characters in the novel. Since I am watching over the characters, I do not feel as involved in the story. But Lahiri makes a unique choice by switching to a different point of view for Part Two.
Part Two is written in second-person, which is unique in that the characters talk directly to you, the reader. Second-person point of view can make a reader feel more directly involved with the novel, which is why it is the style used in choose-your-own-adventure books. Unfortunately for me, however, Lahiri's use of second-person point of view only serves to further alienate me from the characters.
Since the first part of the book is written in third person, I feel as if I am watching the characters go about their lives. I can observe the way they feel and act, and it helps me to further understand the logic behind the actions of the various characters. And since the POV is omniscient, Lahiri goes out of her way to give the reader insight into the lives of Bengali Americans. What this means is that every action is explained so that those like me, with zero Bengali heritage, can understand more fully the characters in the novel. However, in Part Two, the reader becomes Kaushik, a Bengali American. This hurts my connection with the novel for one main reason. Although Hema address me directly by referring to Kaushik as "you", I do not feel like Hema is talking to me. This is because Kaushik has lived a completely different life than mine, so I cannot connect with him. As a result, reading this portion of the novel is more difficult, since I don't feel like I am Kaushik.
I agree that the change in point of view is confusing and can be disorienting at first, but I do think it works well; I also do not think that it is second person, it is more first person if anything. The story is told from the narrator's perspective, as if she is talking to Kaushik, which induces copious "you"s, but the narration is still completely influenced by Hema's opinion; it is her story. I feel like this switch into first person actually lets the reader understand Hema's point of view on life better than third person omniscient because we actually become her. The same thing happens when the narration switches to first person but told by Kaushik. I really enjoyed getting to spend time as each of those characters. This way in the final section, "Going Ashore", I had a deep understanding of each of their characters and backgrounds so that the third person omniscient made sense.
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