Jhumpa Lahiri’s the Lowland

Abstract

Jhumpa Lahiri's novel The Lowland, traces the fate of tender fraternal bonds torn as under byviolent politics. Lahiri's delineation of the narrativeevents purports to show how the absence ofloved ones becomes covertly a portent haunting presence within the subconscious mind of theaffected characters directing their overt actions to their own consequential ways of life throughwhich they are goaded on. When their respective paths crisscross, Lahiri proves herself to be adeptat depicting the unhappiness at the core of the intricate interpersonal relations that materializes.This write-up attempts to grasp the import of this novel by situating the author's unique presenceboth in the post millennium Indian English fiction as well as in the fabric of the narrative. Itsanalytical method moves from an elaborate study of the tortuous plot through a network ofcharacterisation, scrutiny of the multiplex narration leading to a medley of themes that havecontemporary appeal.