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.

I am Malala

I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Nonfiction

Malala Yousafzai obtained international renown when, at the age of fifteen, she was shot in the head by the Taliban for speaking out for girls’ rights to education. In this book, readers are able to understand her origin story. Through her beautiful prose, Malala depicts her serene childhood in Swat and paints pictures of snow covered mountains and trickling streams. We also get to learn more about Malala’s family history, and the amount of support she received from her dad. Malala also shows the atrocities committed by the Taliban with a bit of history thrown in. Driven to fight for her rights and not wanting to stay silent, young Malala delivered speeches and wrote in the diary for BBC, both of which led to the day she was shot in the head. Since then, Malala has continued to fight for education for all, notably having won a Nobel Prize. All of this is baffling when you realize that she is only twenty. Many only know of the time she was shot in the head and that she won a Nobel Prize. Here we get her personal history and some history on the conflict in the Middle East. Malala’s story serves as an inspiration to all, especially young girls, and as a testament to the importance of education.