Jhumpa Lahiri wrote The Lowland. This book is about the tormented family of Subdash and his brother Udayan. The two brothers live in Calcutta near a swamp that fills with water during the rainy season. Subdash grows up to study in Rhode Island. He comes home to Calcutta when his brother Udayan is executed for political reasons. Subdash, seeing his sister-in-law is pregnant and ostracized in Calcutta, offers her marriage and a life in Rhode Island. In return, the wife must keep the fact that he is the baby's uncle and not the father a secret. Hence the torment. Lahiri does an amazing job of describing the torment with dialogue and description of behavior. Her words are emotionally precise and I hated to see read the last chapter because I didn't want it to end. Subdash is a character I will be thinking about for a long time.
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