Reading in the Garden

Devastation in the Lowland This is a tough one to tell you about because I don’t want to give away an important portion of the book that the plot hinges on. So, I’ll just say this. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri about two people drawn together by tragedy and bound by obligation and a secret.  It’s about struggling through loss and searching for individual fulfillment, love, and happiness.  It’s about a balance of Indian and American cultures.  It’s about the opposite forces of freedom versus commitment. Clear as mud, right?  Hmmm. Maybe this will help.  It's the 1960s in India.  Two brothers are  extremely intelligent, but take different roads in life. Udayan becomes a ********. Meanwhile, his brother, Subhash, goes to ******* to ****.   In one letter he learns that Udayan booted traditions and snubbed his family.   To the shock of his parents, he ****** on his own, which is frowned upon, but the greater shock is yet to come.   A horrifying incident in the lowland br

Wao Wows Oscar is a severely overweight, geeky boy growing up in New Jersey.  The thing he wants most in life is to find a girlfriend. It’s a pipe dream though that has him rebounding into his comics, sci-fi novels, video games, and endeavors at writing his own books, when time after time, year after year he’s unsuccessful in love.  His greatest supporter is his devoted sister, Lola, who’s trying to find her own way in life.  She’s very pretty, but also stubborn and determined—like her mother, Belicia. Belicia, is a single mom, tougher than nails, working two and three jobs to support Oscar and Lola.  She’s an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, and as we learn more about Oscar’s attempts to find love and Lola’s rebellions, we also learn the history that made Belicia such a harsh, cold, and unbending force. I liked this book and the characters.   I especially liked hearing about Belicia’s and her father’s backgrounds in the Dominican Republic.   The book was knee high in