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.
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