The Lowland

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

Fiction

Lahiri’s novel, The Lowland follows four generations of one Indian family over time and distance and through personal turmoil and national conflict. The events in the characters’ personal lives mirror the historical context of the book.  Personal conflicts reflect the larger political conflict that India faced during the same time period and Lahiri juxtaposes the personal drama with the political and social turbulence of Indian and American society during the seventies.  It prods readers to examine their personal lives to find the key moments in their past that continues to affect them in the present. It also prompts the reader to consider how personal events are shaped by political events and the times in which they are lived.  The Lowland is a story of how our lives are shaped by our context, how history continues to shape the future, both on an individual and a societal level, and how personal history can continue to haunt one’s life because of the threads that tie the past to the present.

A Step from Heaven

A Step from Heaven By An Na

Fiction

The sea has always been a symbol of bravery to Young Ju. When Young and her family move from Korea to America when Young is four, the ride in a plane causes her to believe that they are moving to heaven. As Young and her family settle into life there, Young realizes that America is not the paradise she believed it to be. An alcoholic abusive father, an initial restricted knowledge of English, and her family’s limited income make life difficult for Young and require her to draw on the strength she learned from the sea.

On Young’s first day of school, she at first feels scared. Her nervous view of the world serves for some comedy for she takes her teacher’s fluffy hair as an indication that she is a witch who wants to eat her. Eventually Young’s fear of school and of her teacher gradually fades as she encounters small things that remind her of the sea and give her bravery to try new things. The color of Young’s classmate’s shirt (a girl that Young calls Sea Shirt) persuades Young to try crayons. The goldfish cracker her teacher gives her helps Young realize that school might not be such a new and dangerous experience. Throughout the book, the sea serves as a reminder to Young to be brave and strong in new situations.

As Young grows older, her life at home deteriorates. Frustrated by his restricted English, which limits his jobs opportunities, and by his family’s low social and economic status, her dad frequently comes home drunk and irritable. As his bad and violent side becomes more and more apparent, his kind and playful side disappears.

I appreciate how the author’s depiction of Young’s dad did not make him a villain. He feels discouraged and hopeless because after years of hard labor he still has nothing. The little money they have, he spends on alcohol, leaving even less money for a house. Young and her family came to America with hopes of riches and freedom of choice, but they slowly come to realize what most characters in immigrant books face-- life in America is not heaven. At most, it is a step away.