The Namesake
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Book Details
Written by Jhumpa Lahiri.
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Editorial Review (from Amazon.com)
Jhumpa Lahiri's debut story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, took the literary world by storm when it won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000. Fans who flocked to her stories will be captivated by her best-selling first novel, now in paperback for the first time. The Namesake is a finely wrought, deeply moving family drama that illuminates this acclaimed author's signature themes: the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, the tangled ties between generations.The Namesake takes the Ganguli family from their tradition-bound life in Calcutta through their fraught transformation into Americans. On the heels of an arranged wedding, Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli settle in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Ashoke does his best to adapt while his wife pines for home. When their son, Gogol, is born, the task of naming him betrays their hope of respecting old ways in a new world. And we watch as Gogol stumbles along the first-generation path, strewn with conflicting loyalties, comic detours, and wrenching love affairs.
With empathy and penetrating insight, Lahiri explores the expectations bestowed on us by our parents and the means by which we come to define who we are.
User Reviews (3) Login or create an account to write a review.
Gino_Ginelli thinks this book is Excellent.
I can't believe this has no reviews yet!
I've just joined this site and this is the first book I thought of, it may just be my favourite book (or one of), the characterisation is amazing, to the point that this toughened 32yr old Londoner choked up reading it on the train to work as a certain point.
Not to give too much away but it is about generations of Indian migrants living in the USA and their struggle to assimilate whilst retaining their own identity and the clash of views and lifestyle of each genration has with society and each other.
I gather this is to made into a movie for the end of the year, catch this now before they ruin another gem.
Za thinks this book is Excellent.
First of all, I must say that Jhumpa Lahiri is an observer of human behaviour and an analyst of human nature like no other. A clear, compassionate voice presents a vast array of characters, each very different from the next, such that you can slip into the mould of any of their personalities and truly understand their motivations.
The Namesake is about Gogol Ganguli, born to Bengali parents in America, and the story of life as an ABCD -- the now-hackneyed American Born Confused Desi, an Indian in the USA -- and yet Lahiri presents a wider and more sympathetic view of that generation than I have ever encountered earlier. A painful and seemingly irresoluble cultural conflict is described in all its embarrassing honesty -- Gogol's efforts towards truly belonging to the place where he was raised, his desire to fit in, once and for all, versus traditions and obligations stemming from a culture and time that he can barely fathom and yet must accept and respect as his true origins. Lahiri definitely comes up with a worthy successor to the beautiful Interpreter of Maladies in this book. It resonated with me on so many levels and left me in awe of the purity of the writer's skill.
Rebecca Adler thinks this book is Excellent.
The Namesake is a story about an Indian family that moves to the United States. It shows the differences between the parents, who still have close ties to India, and the children who are embarrassed of their heritage. The story follows Gogol Gugali through his life, but leaves out large portions of it. It's more like snapshots really.
I became really attached to Gogol's character and understood his desire to escape from the culture of his parents and be independent, especially in a country that puts such a high value on independence. Lahiri takes note of even the smallest details of human interaction, making the reader feel the same emotions as her characters. I highly recommend this book for the story and the wonderful writing.