Discerning The Ties That Bind In The Lowland

The Lowland is the third and most recent novel by acclaimed writer Jhumpa Lahiri.

This tale of love, loss and family takes place in post-Independence India in a lowland area of Calcutta called Tollygunde. The story revolves around two natives of Tollygunde—Subhash, a conformist, and his younger brother Udayan, a pretentious contrarian. Subhash and Udayan are inseparable as children, but as they enter adulthood their political ideologies and personal goals push them toward divergent paths. Subhash travels to the United States to pursue his education and Udayan joins a Mao-inspired revolutionary political group. Their relationship suffers with the strain of distance; their brotherly bond is soon broken.

At various moments throughout the novel, loneliness is palpable. Subhash feels the weight of loneliness when he first leaves the comforts of home for the United States. Gauri, Udayan’s wife, feels loneliness throughout her life because of her strained family ties and the subservient role of women in her community. And Bela, Udayan’s daughter, feels the loneliness of not belonging fully to the Indian society in which she was born or the American society or culture in which she grows up. Resentment, frustration, guilt and pain are neatly woven into Lahiri’s tale of loneliness as well. These families face challenges, both internal and external, and some of these challenges bring them closer together and some of them stretch them farther apart.

In my opinion, The Lowland brilliantly yanks back the curtain on one family and places their dysfunction on full display. This novel has its rocky moments of sadness and despair but there are harmonious moments of joy and fulfillment. Overall, Lahiri dissects this family in such a way as to make me love and hate them, sometimes on a single page. Lahiri has created a masterful work; I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in reading a beautiful piece of fiction. 

Related Book Talk:

The New York Times: A Brother, Long Gone, Is Painfully Present Jhumpa Lahiri’s New Novel, ‘The Lowland’

The Washington Times: BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Lowland’

The Washington Post: Review: ‘The Lowland,’ by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Guardian: The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri – review: Does Man-Booker-shortlisted novelist Jhumpa Lahiri’s real skill lie in short stories?

Los Angeles Times: Jhumpa Lahiri comes up short in ‘The Lowland’

The New Yorker: Unknown Territory: An Interview with Jhumpa Lahiri

 

 

Literature From and Of Africa: Beah Speaks to the Radiance of Tomorrow

On Friday, January 10, Ishmael Beah spoke for the better part of an hour at Politics & Prose, a well-regarded DC bookstore, on two topics: 1) his new book, Radiance of Tomorrow, and 2) being an African writer who writes about Africa.

During his talk, Beah shared that he spent time while traveling on his first book tour for (A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier) thinking about the fate of a story when the cameras stop rolling. What happens to the people and the communities devastated by war or corruption when the outside world is no longer titillated by the press coverage? Beah spent time frequently traveling back home to Sierra Leone during this time of reflection wondering about the impact war can have on a community left behind. He then wove his questions and theories into a novel which speaks to ownership of one’s self and of one’s community.

I have yet to read Radiance of Tomorrow, but from my understanding it is an intimate story detailing the physical and emotional aftermath of war on one small, remote community in Sierra Leone. Former inhabitants of a village return home and attempt to rebuild a lost community.  Beah explained that the novel is composed of small narratives, voices of people living in or returning to the village. Radiance of Tomorrow seems to be a powerful novel about reckoning with the past in order to preserve and create a future. Sara Corbett, a journalist for The New York Times Book Review says, “Written with the moral urgency of a parable and the searing precision of a firsthand account . . . There is an allegorical richness to Beah’s storytelling and a remarkable humanity to his characters. We see tragedy arriving not through the big wallops of war, but rather in corrosive increments.”

I’m very excited to read Beah’s new work not only because the story itself sounds fascinating but because Beah seems fascinating. Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980; I was born in New Haven, CT in 1981 and believe I have a special connection to all 80’s babies. He graduated from Oberlin College in 2004 and I graduated from Bates College the same year. Oberlin and Bates share a similar culture. I am a second generation Cape Verdean American and he is a Sierra Leonean American. I believe that’s where our similarities end. As tenuous as those connections appear to be they are enough to get me hooked.

For more information about Beah check out his website. And if you are interested in following Beah on Twitter you can do so at @IshmaelBeah. I follow him and after his Politics and Prose talk chose to tell him how much I appreciated him coming to DC and sharing his message:

@TheEducatorSpot Thank you for coming, listening, reading… Thanks!

— Ishmael Beah (@IshmaelBeah) January 15, 2014

The Politics & Prose Talk:

Radiance of Tomorrow

By Ishmael Beah

Cost $18.60 (Hardcover on Amazon)

ISBN-13: 9780374246020

Published: Sarah Crichton Books, 1/2014

Thoughts on Crick Crack, Monkey, by Merle Hodge

Tee is a child trapped between two worlds, the haves and the have nots. Her father emigrated to England and his sister Tantie remained behind to help raise Tee. Tee’s mother is deceased and her sister, Aunt Beatrice, is left behind to aid in Tee’s upbringing as well. Tantie cares for Tee when she is young and then Aunt Beatrice gains custody of Tee during her formative years. Tantie fills Tee’s childhood with joy and simplicity. Tee is able to enjoy the world and the people around her without bias or judgment. She is able to live the life of an innocent child, free of prejudice and yearning for education. When guardianship changes from one aunt to the other Tee’s worldview takes a big hit. Aunt Beatrice dedicates her time to polishing Tee; refining her appearance, behavior and outlook. Tee transitions from being a young free-spirited child into a judgmental, uppity young woman.

Crick Crack, Monkey explains the potential price of upward mobility not only in the Caribbean but in all societies around the world. There is always a price to be paid when someone either decides or is led into a different social class. In this case, Tee is fully aware of the explicit bias her Aunt Beatrice exhibits because it contradicts everything Tantie taught her. However, over time, Tee is indoctrinated into this new way of thinking and her transition and thus transformation is complete.