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Avg. Rating: 4
Relatable Tale
The language is precise, a bit too stiff for my taste. But I enjoyed the well woven story, especially when one can relate to the experience of the protagonist, it becomes just that more savory.
Exotic and Insightful
What's in a name? Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli understand the importance of naming. As Bengalis, they rarely use each other's "good names," the formal first name that appears on birth certificates, diplomas, and marriage licenses. Instead, they use the pet name bestowed upon each Bengali shortly after birth, the one that is used exclusively by family and friends (which may be a real name or a silly, onomatopoeic nickname). The good name is too momentous, too significant to be used, or chosen, lightly. So, when Ashoke and Ashima, newly transplanted to the United States, learn that they are expecting a child, they ask the family matriarch to select a name for their baby and send it to them in a letter. Nobody else will know the chosen name until afterward.Months pass, and the letter fails to appear; it seems it's been lost in the mail. Initially, the Gangulis aren't too worried, because Bengalis often aren't officially named for months or even years; but the American system demands a name immediately. Meanwhile, the great-grandmother has fallen severely ill, and is in no state to reveal baby names. Running out of time, Ashoke names his son "Gogol," after his favorite Russian writer, a name that has immense personal significance to him. But to young Gogol, the name is a burden, a disfigurement, an ugly reminder of the many differences between him and his peers. As he grows up, Gogol embarks on a bitter love-hate relationship with his name; he loathes it, he denies it, he tries to escape it. Only when Gogol has made peace with his ethnic background and his family's traditions can he learn to accept his identity. Lahiri, known for her critically adored short-story collection The Interpreter of Maladies, makes her debut as a novelist with this work. Her writing is understated and simple, but beautifully evocative and filled with sensory detail. Though much is necessarily omitted in a story that covers several decades in under three hundred pages, Lahiri chooses her words deftly, focusing on quotidian scenes of startling intimacy to make the reader feel close to the characters. Which is not to say her characters are incomplete or undeveloped; though more development would be welcome, the characters still feel well-thought-out and complex, and their relationships with each other are believable and sympathetic. Focusing on themes of displacement and foreignness, and the bewildering and alienating process of assimilating into a new society, The Namesake is powerful and genuine, blending humor and drama into a realistic portrait of a family. Given their struggle to retain their heritage while becoming fully integrated into their new country, and the resulting confusion of identity that trickles down the generations, what is, perhaps, most surprising in the end is how all-American the Gangulis really are. I truly enjoyed this novel, and I think you will, too. In addition, I'd like to recommend another recent Amazon purchase, 'The Losers' Club: Complete Restored Edition' by Richard Perez, an unconventional and highly entertaining little novel I can't stop thinking about.
A haunting&engaging tale of life.
I attempted to read this book several times, but after a page or two, I was not engaged enough to continue further, so I would put it back on the shelf.... one day I finally decided that I paid money for this book, so I was going to finish it! After the first chapter, I found that I was so enthralled with the world of the Gangulis, that I could NOT stop reading - and even when I did stop reading, I was constantly thinking about the characters. As previous reviewers have noted, the book does not have a very distinguishable plot, but rather, it weaves for the reader the beautiful and haunting story of two Bengalis who come to America, the challenges they face, and then of the bicultural, emotional, and familial challenges of their American-born children. The story of the Ganguli family is as unpredictable, joyous, and horrific as real life is. Despite the lack of a clear plot, I never tired of reading it, and was always wanting to see what would happen next in the lives of the characters - I wish the book had never ended! Lahiri writes in such an melancholy yet enchanting way that I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next!
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