I'm glad I read this novel, above all for the pleasure of Lahiri's beautiful writing. She writes so fluidly that even the heavy subjects of deep loss and alienation in this book don't bog it down; the characters' emotional lives may have stagnated like the water on the lowland (!) but the pace of the novel did not. Unlike some other reviewers, I felt the first half of the novel to be stronger than the second half; I especially enjoyed the opening scenes of the brothers' lives together. 
 The first loss of the family drained the color out of the story in a way that made sense. Yet some time after the second loss (trying not to give spoilers here), I expected some kind of color to return, color meaning affection, connection, small displays of generosity and compassion. Instead reason, ethics and work ruled the character's lives and never was there a spontaneous outburst, or some unexpected tender gesture that moved the characters together again. 
 I know there are bitter people and people who - either because of culture or nature or both - cannot understand and/or express their emotions. I understand that some families simply don't 'deal' in feelings so I don't criticize these characters as as a fault of Lahiri's. It's just that I really need the push and pull between characters in a novel, to use the places where they interact and trip over each other as a means to understand them and the choices they make. In The Lowland, each remains apart and the ghost hanging over their heads, well, I just couldn't fathom how he acquired such power over them for so many years. My advice: read it, and then go hug your family.