Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As someone who loved The Namesake, perhaps my expectations were too high. I was really hoping The Lowland would be great. Unfortunately, for me, it fell flat. Brothers Subhash (the responsible serious one) and Udayan (15 months younger, and the rebellious one) grew up together in Calcutta during the politically tumultuous 60's. After college, Subhash heads to the US to further his studies, Udayan stays in Calcutta and becomes involved in a political uprising. When he is killed, leaving behind a pregnant wife, Subhash steps in and fills the role of husband to widowed Gauri and father to his niece-to-be. The Pros: This is a period in history I knew very little about. Lahiri does a great job of summarizing the political landscape of India in the 1960's. I loved learning how the politics of post-colonial India tied to Maoist China, Castro's Cuba, and Che Guevara. For exmple, I had no idea that Castro destroyed most of Cuba's golf courses when he came into power. Fascinating! It's easy to see how communist ideals could take hold in such a class-divided society. The Cons: I found almost all of the characters in this novel insufferable. Not only did I not connect with them, few of them connected with each other. There wasn't really anyone to root for. I don't necessarily have to like the characters to appreciate a book, but it helps to understand their motivations. I never could decide if these folks were behaving selflessly, making decisions they thought would be best for their loved-ones, or selfishly trying to maximize their own situation at others' cost. Maybe they didn't really know either. Frustrating. The other issue I had was with the pacing of the book. It was very inconsistent. Some chapters provided detailed accounts of days or weeks, while others covered years in a couple of pages. For some reason, it made it difficult for me to get lost in the story. Conclusion: This book is fine, but not my favorite. If it had been my first Jhumpa Lahiri, I'd be unlikely to pick up another of her works. But, having previously read The Namesake I still look forward to her next book. This just wasn't a good fit for me.