Why The Lowland is hardly a Dickensian novel

No doubt the best scenes and moments in Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland occur at or near the very end: Gauri  returning, unannounced!, to the home she'd abandoned 40 years ago, and being confronted by her abandoned daughter, Bela - a great moment when Bela says to her: How dare you! At last someone stands up for themselves - everyone in the novel up to this point except for the long-gone Udayan has been essentially a doormat. Another fine moment is the account of Udayan's last days or day: his suffering after the murder of the policeman, his fear, hiding in the lowland marsh until the police find him, his very last moment of consciousness. Also, Gauri's guilt about her participation in the murder of the policeman. That said: these scenes are far, far too late to rescue this tedious and poorly written novel, I'm sorry to say. Though the final scenes have a certain poignancy - Subhash newly married and visiting some ancient field in Ireland, for example, is a fine moment - but what does it really add to this long novel? At the end, sorry for these spoilers, but this is hardly a surprise, Gauri thinks about suicide - during another one of her sudden and unannounced (and actually very selfish - she blows off a speaking engagement to do this) trip to her homeland - but she backs off; Bela, too, backs off from her bitterness and allows her daughter to maintain contact w/ Gauri. In other words, Lahiri avoids any great dramatic scenes right up to the end - the only "drama" is the capture and shooting of Udayan, right near the outset. I wish I did not have to be so negative - I have greatly admired so much of Lahiri's work - but honestly are the raves and the sales for this book based on the quality of this novel or the reputation of the author? I peeked at one review, which I rarely do, and saw the inevitable comparison with Dickens. Why? This is by no means a Dickensian novel except that it's long - and covers a large span of time. But just compare this with, I don't know, David Copperfield: are the characters vivid and sharply drawn? Do we get the sense of the life of a whole culture? Are there dramatic, even melodramatic or operatic moments? Hardly. It's a novel crammed w/ research, the seams all showing, that never rises above a simmer.