Unaccustomed Earth: 5. Nobody’s Business Summary & Analysis

Bengali men call Sang all the time at the apartment she shares with Paul and Heather, attempting to court the  well-educated, single Bengali woman they’ve never met. Sang, more annoyed than flattered by their interruptions, doesn’t take the calls seriously—especially since the men often forget basic details about her life and schooling. Paul wishes Sang was more dismissive of her suitors, as she usually half-heartedly humors them. He compares her to Penelope from the Odyssey, constantly waiting out unwanted advances.

When Sang first moved into the apartment, Paul overheard her speaking to a friend about her Egyptian boyfriend of three years, Farouk, a Harvard professor of Middle Eastern history. Though she plans to marry him eventually, he’d told Sang he doesn’t want to live with her before marriage. Paul is immediately smitten with Sang, and he often works on his English literature PhD in communal spaces just to be near her. Sang, who dropped out of Harvard and no longer cares for academia, is still impressed by Paul’s devotion. However, Paul doesn’t tell her that he already failed his PhD defense once, a source of deep personal shame.

A few weeks after Sang first moves in, Farouk calls, and Paul answers the phone. Later, returning home from the library, Paul sees Sang and a man—presumably Farouk—standing outside, examining the house’s façade. Paul overhears him criticizing the home’s lack of privacy and urging Sang to close her bedroom curtains when she undresses. When Sang introduces him as Farouk, he quickly corrects her, saying he prefers to be called “Freddy,” just as she now insists on going by “Sang” rather than her full name, Sangeeta.

Gradually, Sang begins spending less time at home and more time at Farouk’s. When Farouk rarely comes over, he ignores Paul and Heather, behaving as if Sang is the home’s only occupant. Sang regularly does Farouk’s laundry and cooks his meals. But around Thanksgiving, Sang and Farouk begin fighting. Paul overhears one argument where Sang begs Farouk to meet her friends and questions why she’s never allowed to spend the night at his place. Suddenly, he hears glass shattering behind her closed bedroom door, followed by silence. After that, Farouk stops coming inside altogether, choosing instead to honk from the street three times to signal his arrival and take Sang away.

During winter break, Sang visits her sister in London. While she’s gone, Paul ventures into her bedroom, surprised by its neatness. The phone rings, but when he answers, the other end of the line is silent. When it rings again later that evening, a woman named Deirdre Frain asks for Sang, but Paul tells her she’ll be away all weekend. Deirdre calls back late that night, tipsily wondering if Sang and “Freddy” are cousins. She confesses to Paul that she’s in love with Farouk. The next day, when they speak again, Paul tries to tell her that Sang and Farouk are in a serious relationship, but Deirdre reveals that she’s been seeing Farouk for over a year and that they, too, are a “serious couple.”

When Sang returns from London and sees that a woman named Deirdre called for her, Paul lies, saying she’s probably just a telemarketer. Afterward, he begins avoiding Sang, spending more time at the library. For a while, Deirdre stops calling, but during Paul’s spring break, Sang briefly speaks to her on the phone. Deirdre claims she’s a friend of Farouk’s, though Sang believed he had no friends. She interrogates Paul, who omits that Deirdre is having an affair with Farouk. He only mentions that Deirdre had cried on the phone, without explaining why. This new information angers Sang, and she yells at Paul for not telling her sooner.

Sang avoids Paul for a few days, during which time his resentment festers. When she finally speaks to him, she claims Farouk explained everything—that Deirdre is just an old friend who’s about to get married and wanted to catch up. Sang accuses Paul of fabricating the detail about Deirdre crying, suggesting he did so out of jealousy to sabotage her relationship with Farouk. Upset, she labels Paul “pathetic.” Frustrated and determined to clear things up, Paul decides to call Deirdre. It takes some time, but he eventually reaches her, and she tells him she’ll call back that evening.

Paul buys a second phone so Sang can listen in on his conversation with Deirdre. During the call, Deirdre apologizes for calling Paul so many times all those months ago, revealing she’s officially ended things with Farouk. She explains that Farouk is a lonely man who collects lovers like others collect friends, urging Paul to tell Sang the full truth. Hearing everything, Sang is devastated and asks Paul to drive her to Farouk’s. When they arrive, Paul and Farouk get into a physical altercation, and neighbors call the police. A heated argument ensues between Farouk and Sang, culminating in a shattered vase and Sang in tears, blaming herself for everything.

The following morning, Sang departs for London to stay with her sister, leaving Paul and Heather a check for one month’s rent. Weeks pass with no communication from Sang. Even Farouk calls Paul a couple of times, hoping to reach her. At the end of the month, one of Sang’s friends comes by to pack up her things, informing Paul that she’s decided to stay in London a while. Meanwhile, Paul passes his PhD exams, and his professors take him out to celebrate. Tipsy, Paul wanders around Cambridge afterward, spotting Farouk with a new woman. There’s a dog with her, which amuses Paul—Farouk had always hated dogs.