The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

On Monday, October 6th, the Booked for the Day Book Group met to discuss, The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri. Here are a few things we discussed during the meeting:

We started our discussion talking about the Naxalite Movement. None of us were familiar with this conflict before reading the book but it did stir our interest.  Many of us did some research on it and we were surprised that it was not more widely covered in the United States.

Most of us agreed that the book was beautifully written and that we were able to picture what she was describing. We all thought she was a wonderful storyteller. We also liked how Lahiri shifted viewpoints throughout the novel. Our opinions and sympathies for the characters changed as more information was revealed. One member thought she did not reveal the character’s emotions but used the descriptions of the settings to relay and set the mood of the characters.

We talked about Udayan’s death and how his parents and Gauri were never able to heal from what they witnessed. We all thought Gauri was a complicated character and for many, she was their favorite character. No one liked what she did to Bela nor could we relate to it, but as the story unraveled we understood what might have been behind it. No one thought that Subhash’s insistence on hiding the truth from Bela influenced Gauri’s behavior and the choices she made. Even with time, distance and a new life Gauri could not let go of what she did.

We were not sure why Holly was in the story other than the fact that it showed that Subhash was somewhat rebellious too. Lorna was another character whose purpose we were unsure about other than to show Gauri’s loneliness.

No one blamed Bela for the reception she gave her mother. In fact we thought it would be unrealistic if she fell all over her. We thought her letter to Gauri was for the benefit of Meghna who was interested in knowing more about Gauri.  Bela also knew that secrets could cause harm in the end.  We were all happy for Subhash and Bela and glad that they were able to make their relationship work.

The group said that they would recommend this book. One of our members already started to read Lahiri’s collection of short stories.

These are just a few things mentioned during the discussion. Please feel free to add any of your thoughts in the comment section.