The Lowland

National Book Award Finalist; Man Booker Prize Finalist

By: Jhumpa Lahiri

Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra

National Book Award Finalist
Shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning, best-selling author of The Namesake comes an extraordinary new novel, set in both India and America, that expands the scope and range of one of our most dazzling storytellers: a tale of two brothers bound by tragedy, a fiercely brilliant woman haunted by her past, a country torn by revolution, and a love that lasts long past death.

Born just fifteen months apart, Subhash and Udayan Mitra are inseparable brothers, one often mistaken for the other in the Calcutta neighborhood where they grow up. But they are also opposites, with gravely different futures ahead. It is the 1960s, and Udayan—charismatic and impulsive—finds himself drawn to the Naxalite movement, a rebellion waged to eradicate inequity and poverty; he will give everything, risk all, for what he believes. Subhash, the dutiful son, does not share his brother’s political passion; he leaves home to pursue a life of scientific research in a quiet, coastal corner of America.

But when Subhash learns what happened to his brother in the lowland outside their family’s home, he goes back to India, hoping to pick up the pieces of a shattered family, and to heal the wounds Udayan left behind—including those seared in the heart of his brother’s wife.

Masterly suspenseful, sweeping, piercingly intimate, The Lowland is a work of great beauty and complex emotion; an engrossing family saga and a story steeped in history that spans generations and geographies with seamless authenticity. It is Jhumpa Lahiri at the height of her considerable powers.

Not the best book this year, but up there

What made the experience of listening to The Lowland the most enjoyable?

I was glad I listened to the book, for foreign language books have terms I can't pronounce and it makes a difficult read for me.

What did you like best about this story?

the back and forth nature of the story

What does Sunil Malhotra bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

pronunciation for sure!

If you could rename The Lowland, what would you call it?

wouldn't--the name was perfect for the area.

unforgettable epic story

brilliant writing and an unforgettable read. excellent aural performance. you are carried along with each twist and turn.

Jhumpa Lahiry is a genius.

One Man's Influence

This book spans 50 years in the lives of three people. The journey these people take through life are the result of one man's actions. Part of the book is set in India and then the US. The events in India in the late 50's early 60's are not taught in the US. It sparked me to do some research into the violent birth of the Indian nation at the end of British rule. The Indian culture was something else I know little about and it made me appreciate some of the customs I see here. The characters and places are brought to life with a gentle soothing narrative and the reader with is subtle Indian accent brings the even more authenticity to the story.

Beautiful, sad, beguiling

Beautifully written and masterfully crafted. A slow start, but she brings you in. Great narrator, who effortlessly shifts between characters and the story's pov changes.

Conveys the powerful pull of personal history

A bit of a tentative start for me but soon I was captured into this complex generational story, well supported by its narrator and framed with metaphor. A good read!