but heavy summer storm on her lake.
There were eight present and they were Madeleine, Julie,
Kathy, Sarah, Betsy, Nancy, Marsha and Nettie.
We ordered pizzas and had a very thoughtful discussion of
Nancy's book "The Lowland" by Jhumpa Lahiri.
It is a story of two Indian boys coming of age in
Calcutta almost like twins but diverging on different
paths in adulthood. One became a political activist
and the other a scholar on Marine Biology in the USA.
They both married the same girl and one raised the other's
child when he was killed.
Nancy asked us to name our favorite character and we all
chose and gave reasons why that choice was made.
Some people did not really care for any of the characters.
Next we were asked to give our take on why a young mother
would abandon her only child. That led to very deep thoughts
on a woman's role and rights in India.
We discussed the political state of India in the 60's and how the book
shed new light on the effect of Russian and Chinese communism on India.
We all had not heard of the Naxalite movement in India.
We also discussed challenges faced by immigrants to america and how
parental control and traditions in India might affect this submergence in the new
culture.
Marsha chose a book called "Tracks" by Robyn Davidson which is a
woman's solo trek in the Australian Outback.
October 8 was chosen for the next meeting.
