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Jhumpa Lahiri's second novel, The Lowland, should not be dismissed away in a hurry. It could turn out to be a greater book than her first novel.
Jhumpa Lahiri is indeed a pride of India. Her fictional art cannot be questioned. Unfortunately after the publication of her second novel, The Lowland, there has been a grumpy murmuring among Western readers who have not found this second novel equal to her first. A novelist, it must not be forgotten, will not always write the same kind of stuff that the readers have learned to identify as his or her work. She may need to write in a totally different style or genre in an attempt not to replicate the first novel. It is too early to pass a final judgment on the novel. Let a few years roll by and then our readers may be able to see what her superior vision is or was when she wrote the novel. She may have decided to paint a picture closer to the reality of India as it is, rather than what the West may want it to be or seem. Jhumpa Lahiri is not a Chetan Bhagat and should not therefore be examined by the parameters of a Chetan Bhagat. Bhagat has his own kind of charm which cannot be every Indian novelist’s cup of tea. He may be able to produce novel after novel which touches the same kind of level or goal. It must not be forgotten that the page of history is the test of greatness. Let time pass and reveal her novel’s real merit instead of expecting Lahiri to give us exactly what we expect from her at this time.
Lakshmi Raj Sharma
www.lakshmirajsharma.com
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