The lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri

Subbosh and Udayan are brothers born and raised in Calcutta.  When Udayan’s political activities in the early 1960’s lead to his early death, he leaves behind a pregnant wife, Gauri, living in his parents’ house, but not accepted by them.  After Udayan’s death, Subbosh, who avoids politics, returns from the United States where he has been studying, and decides the best course of action is to marry his brother’s widow and raise the expected child as his own in the United States.  Covering a span of fifty years and two continents, the novel deals with the questions of who is our family, what are our moral obligations, and what is love.  Like her earlier books, it is well-written and thought-provoking.  340 pp.