Summary Of Jhumpa Lahiri's 'The Lowlands'

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Introduction: “If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance,” transcribed George Bernard Shaw in Immaturity. ‘The Lowlands’ portrays the life of two siblings, born 15 months apart, in the late 1950’s themed land called Calcutta. Jhumpa Lahiri excerpts the book’s title from the section of the city called Tollygunder. During every north-eastern monsoon, the lowland fills with water reaching the height of a bicycle, which remained for the rest of the year. Udayan and Subhash grew up together in this marshland, each bound to be together and often mistaken for the other. This novel shows how two people who are considerably identical can be so much different when faced with distinctive circumstances and life choices. It complicates the age old tale of sibling rivalry and enriches the readers with true love and captivates the way both the brothers swear by each other. Lahiri’s works are usually based on characters who journey to another country and the challenges they come across; deriving from her own personal experience as being born in London to her Bengali parents and the way of life she has overcome. This tale takes us on a high tide while teaching us the bitter reality of the highs and lows of actions which would haunt families for the rest of their lives. Rehashed Summary: Brothers, …show more content…

Few of those circle around Gauri as to why she didn’t disregard getting married to Subhash? Why does her sudden urge for freedom arise after Udayan’s death? Such questions keep me up at night but then I convince myself this is just fiction and go back to sleep. The prose and writing style of the author was well written. It indulged my interests and made me cling on to some characters. All in all this was gripping and enthralling. The only faux pas in this novel was the limited description of the inside of Gauri’s lucidity, judgement and psychology behind her

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