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

 

 

Harvest of Empire: US Involvement in Latin America Explored

We are all Americans of the New World, and our most dangerous enemies 
are not each other, but the great wall of ignorance between us. – Juan González, Harvest of Empire

In 2011, Juan González, journalist and co-host of Democracy Now!, published the book Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America, a five-century study of U.S. involvement in Latin America. In 2012, this award-winning book was transformed into a 90-minute feature-length documentary directed by Eduardo López and Peter Getzels. The book and the film examine the direct correlation between U.S. political, economic and military interventions throughout Latin America and the unprecedented wave of migration. In 2012, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 53 million Latinos live in the U.S., making up 17% of the population.

González narrates the film and explains that the massive migration of Latinos to the U.S. were (and are) in direct response to the needs of an empire; the empire in this case is the U.S. and the needs are more natural resources and regional political influence. The film uses archival footage and interviews with prominent Latino immigrants in the U.S. to further the “empire” case; personal migration testimonies from Guatemalan political activist and 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú, ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero, Dominican Pulitzer Prize-Winning author Junot Díaz, Grammy award-winning Nicaraguan singer and composer Luis Enrique, and more are shared. The documentary highlights the wars for territorial expansion that gave the U.S. control of Puerto Rico, Cuba and more than half of Mexico. It also outlines some of the covert political and military operations that installed tyrannical regimes in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador.  On a lighter note, the film also does a wonderful job emphasizing the achievements of Latinos in their homelands in spite of, and in direct relation to, suppression and oppression.

They never teach us in school that the huge Latino presence here is a direct result of our own government’s actions in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America over many decades — actions that forced millions from that region to leave their homeland and journey north. – Juan González, Harvest of Empire

Prior to watching this documentary, I had a laypersons understanding of the immigration debate. Now, I believe I am able to fully appreciate the impact of U.S. involvement in Latino countries and the desperation that the people of those countries feel as a result of those interventions. This is an important documentary in this day and age when people resembling the stereotypical Latino image can be arrested and detained for their looks.  I highly encourage everyone interested in the migration, immigration and/or U.S. involvement in Latin American to watch this documentary.

 

 Related Resources:

Harvest of Empire

Zinn Education Project: Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America (Book)

The Washington Post: Harvest of Empire, Editorial Review by, Stephanie Merry

The New York Times: Why They Come Here: “Harvest of Empire”, About Immigration

Gozamos: Film Review by, Ilene Palacios                                                                           

SFGate: Harvest of Empire Review by, Peter Hartlaub