Not that Jhumpa Lahiri needs my help reviewing her new book, The Lowland, but at least it is a chance to prove that I don't exclusively read YA dystopian and fantasy books. So I spent most of this weekend reading The Lowland and what can I say that hasn't already been said? It's a masterful achievement by an author who has already made a name for herself as one of the greatest young voices in literary fiction of this generation. As with much of her other work, she deals with people who are fragmented from their cultures and have to reconcile who they really are with where they came from. But this book is so much more. She brings into this story political ideology and the idealistic split between two Indian brothers who are brought up together almost as if they are twins although one is fifteen months older than the other. The younger brother follows one path while the older goes to America to pursue a career in scientific research. Despite the geographical distance and the political unrest in Calcutta, their lives are inextricably linked, particularly through the younger brother's wife and her fate. As with The Namesake (one of Lahiri's earlier books that I love and which has been made into a wonderful movie starring Kal Penn), this book is told in shifting third person point of view so the reader can get inside a number of characters' heads. For the most part it moves forward in time chronologically with the occasional jump into flashback to flesh out the present day action. All of the characterization is sympathetic and genuine, and much of it tears at the heartstrings, particularly when she conveys feelings of loss and isolation and breaking away from family and culture, losing oneself in the unknown.
Additionally, as her writing has matured, her setting and other descriptions - always amazingly evocative - are sublime in this book. I started marking turns of phrase I wanted to remember for later and ended up realizing I would simply be highlighting every second paragraph in the book. Lahiri has a way of turning everyday objects into items infused with meaning and pathos. And her evocation of setting is unbelievable. The Lowland itself (introduced in the first pages and a recurring geographic symbol throughout the story This book has been a long time coming and was definitely worth the wait.
Additionally, as her writing has matured, her setting and other descriptions - always amazingly evocative - are sublime in this book. I started marking turns of phrase I wanted to remember for later and ended up realizing I would simply be highlighting every second paragraph in the book. Lahiri has a way of turning everyday objects into items infused with meaning and pathos. And her evocation of setting is unbelievable. The Lowland itself (introduced in the first pages and a recurring geographic symbol throughout the story This book has been a long time coming and was definitely worth the wait.
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