The Namesake

published	2006 by Mariner Books
first published	2004
binding	Paperback
isbn	0618733965 (isbn13: 9780618733965)
pages	304
description	Any talk of The Namesake--Jhumpa Lahiri's follow-up to her Pulitzer Prize-winning debut, Interpreter of Maladies--must begin with a name...more [close] Any talk of The Namesake--Jhumpa Lahiri's follow-up to her Pulitzer Prize-winning debut, Interpreter of Maladies--must begin with a name: Gogol Ganguli. Born to an Indian academic and his wife, Gogol is afflicted from birth with a name that is neither Indian nor American nor even really a first name at all. He is given the name by his father who, before he came to America to study at MIT, was almost killed in a train wreck in India. Rescuers caught sight of the volume of Nikolai Gogol's short stories that he held, and hauled him from the train. Ashoke gives his American-born son the name as a kind of placeholder, and the awkward thing sticks. Awkwardness is Gogol's birthright. He grows up a bright American boy, goes to Yale, has pretty girlfriends, becomes a successful architect, but like many second-generation immigrants, he can never quite find his place in the world. There's a lovely section where he dates a wealthy, cultured young Manhattan woman who lives with her charming parents. They fold Gogol into their easy, elegant life, but even here he can find no peace and he breaks off the relationship. His mother finally sets him up on a blind date with the daughter of a Bengali friend, and Gogol thinks he has found his match. Moushumi, like Gogol, is at odds with the Indian-American world she inhabits. She has found, however, a circuitous escape: "At Brown, her rebellion had been academic ... she'd pursued a double major in French. Immersing herself in a third language, a third culture, had been her refuge--she approached French, unlike things American or Indian, without guilt, or misgiving, or expectation of any kind." Lahiri documents these quiet rebellions and random longings with great sensitivity. There's no cleverness or showing-off in The Namesake, just beautifully confident storytelling. Gogol's story is neither comedy nor tragedy; it's simply that ordinary, hard-to-get-down-on-paper commodity: real life. --Claire Dederer
date added	12-14-06 edit book

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Emily rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

08/28/07

bookshelves: funky-fiction, i-own-it, they-made-a-movie

I decided to read The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri when I saw the preview for the movie. I've had an "affection" for Kal Penn ever since Taj volunteered to be Van Wilder's personal assistant. When I saw the preview, I had to immediately go out and buy a copy of the book, because I have an aversion to owning books that have their movie's poster on the cover. My one exception is Fight Club, and only because it's autographed (purchased at the previously mentioned Powells).

I bought th...more

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Day rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

06/13/07

bookshelves: fiction

Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: ...

I must make two confessions before I delve into a proper review of this book:

1. I saw the movie adaptation of this novel before I read the book.
2. I have read, and loved, Interpreter of Maladies.

As much as I tried to put these two substantial forces out of my mind, they were inevitably the lens through which I understood The Namesake. While I unfortunately began this book knowing the plot, I also knew that Lahiri's prose is among the best I've ever read. Her short stories are nearl...more I must make two confessions before I delve into a proper review of this book:

1. I saw the movie adaptation of this novel before I read the book.
2. I have read, and loved, Interpreter of Maladies.

As much as I tried to put these two substantial forces out of my mind, they were inevitably the lens through which I understood The Namesake. While I unfortunately began this book knowing the plot, I also knew that Lahiri's prose is among the best I've ever read. Her short stories are nearly flawless, and each individual piece offers a profound view of the complex world of her characters.

The narration of the novel is true to Lahini's form-- effortless, smooth, subtle and richly detailed. The plot, however, feels stretched thin; nothing extraordinary occurs in Gogol's life, outside of the death of his father. In fact, this novel was quite a departure from Lahiri's earlier work in Interpreter of Maladies in that Gogol is so unconflicted, so thoroughly American as to seek to overcome his parent's attempts to instill in him the values they've retained from their way of life in India. Instead, he immerses himself in the country of his birth, adopting himself into the most American way of life that Lahiri can imagine for him.

The Ratliffs represent, in my opinion, an example of the execesses that most likely represent the American way of life to outsiders. This is a life full of dinner parties, lots of wine, summer-long vacations from work, shopping, etc, and is meant to provide a contrast to Gogol's modest upbringing. Only the unsettling death of his father can bring Gogol to realize that he will never find a true home here.

Even more unsettling was Gogol's relationship with Moushumi. Despite that she comes from a similar foundation as Gogol himself, this character lived in profusion of wealth and personal riches, including a fancy apartment (for a student? with immigrant parents?) beautiful clothing and trips to Paris. Despite their parent's initial glee upon their marriage, Moushumi's inability to maintain a marriage with a man of similar decent becomes their undoing. After all of this, I only ask, what is the point? What is to be learned from this?

Those two questions were inevitably all that remained for me at the conclusion of the novel. We are, at the novel's close, to believe that Gogol has returned home by reading his long-forgotten short stories of Nikolai Gogol. Somehow, all of Nikhil's cavorting is to be forgiven upon his acceptance of his "real" name. True introspection regarding Gogol's origins had been cast aside by Gogol himself, and so the conclusion of the book seems hasty.

While Lahiri's prose was excellent thoughout, and her musings on what's-in-a-name (something that I, as a Davis, will never tire of) were interesting, I found this novel, overall, to be only mildly worthy of short story material, but not at all worthy of a 200+ page novel. ...less

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Emma rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

12/30/07

Read in October, 2007

You've heard this story before. Junot Diaz, Julia Alvarez, Anzia Yezierska, and Edwidge Danticat are just a few of the authors who have told their own versions. The story they all have in common: The immigrant experience in the United States. Each of the above authors tackles this subject from a different enthnographic perspective, but the pull between the old (native) culture and the new (immigrant) one is always present.

Pulitzer prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri adds to this conversation ...more You've heard this story before. Junot Diaz, Julia Alvarez, Anzia Yezierska, and Edwidge Danticat are just a few of the authors who have told their own versions. The story they all have in common: The immigrant experience in the United States. Each of the above authors tackles this subject from a different enthnographic perspective, but the pull between the old (native) culture and the new (immigrant) one is always present.

Pulitzer prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri adds to this conversation with "The Namesake" (her first novel which was a follow up to her short story collection "Interpreter of Maladies" which won the Pulitzer): the epic story of the Ganguli family's arrival and assimilation into the world of the United States.

The story begins when Ashoke and his wife (of an arranged marriage), Ashima, come to Massachusetts where Ashoke is a graduate student at MIT. The year is 1968. At the beginning of the novel Ashima is pregnant with her first child, a son.

In Bengali culture, it is common for people to have a formal name and a pet name (nickname). Ashoke has no problem coming up with a nickname for their son: Gogol. Unfortunately, due to a variety of mishaps and misunderstandings, the formal name proves harder to settle on and even harder to enforce. So Gogol Ganguli grows up with only a pet name--one that is not American, or Indian, or a first name.

No one really cares that Gogol's name is so unique, except Gogol whose anxiety over his name is bothersome enough that no external taunts are necessary. Gogol eventually resolves to rename himself, but not after learning the life-changing story that inspired his father give Gogol his name in the first place.

Despite the vast period Lahiri writes about, the novel's focus remains narrowly focused on the characters, especially Ashima and her son. Despite the authenticity that Lahiri brings to her main characters, certain scenes remain naggingly artificial--feeling simultaneously improbable and contrived.

Lahiri's writing here (I've yet to read her short stories) is beautiful without being pretentious or overly self-aware. The story feels authentic and compelling despite the fact that so many of the cultural references remain worlds away.

Even more interesting is the fact that I enjoyed almost the entire novel despite having a strong dislike of Gogol and several of the secondary characters. (I'd say more about what this means in terms of the writing style/skill but I still haven't figured out how that happened.) Despite my misgivings throughout the novel, Gogol does work toward redeeming himself by the end of the story.

Regardless of my nitpicks, "The Namesake" remains a must for anyone interested in the immigrant experience in America. Lahiri's narrative hearkens back to Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex" which has a similar scope, tracing three generation's relationship with Detroit.

"The Namesake" deals with common themes but, as any good book should, Lahiri makes these subjects new and original with her unique characters and wonderful writing.
...less

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Ercildoun rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

03/31/08

Read in March, 2008

Michiko Kakutani begins her review for the New York Times, "Jhumpa Lahiri's quietly dazzling new novel, The Namesake, is that rare thing: an intimate, closely observed family portrait that effortlessly and discreetly unfolds to disclose a capacious social vision."

It's a novel about an immigrant family's imperfect assimilation into America. The story opens in 1968, as Nikhil's pregnant mother is mixing herself a Bengali American concoction of green chili peppers and Planters peanuts...more Michiko Kakutani begins her review for the New York Times, "Jhumpa Lahiri's quietly dazzling new novel, The Namesake, is that rare thing: an intimate, closely observed family portrait that effortlessly and discreetly unfolds to disclose a capacious social vision."

It's a novel about an immigrant family's imperfect assimilation into America. The story opens in 1968, as Nikhil's pregnant mother is mixing herself a Bengali American concoction of green chili peppers and Planters peanuts. It closes just three years ago, with grown Nikhil -- born in the United States, yet in his way as hyphenated an American as his parents -- at last reconciled to reading a book once given to him by his father, who used to embarrass him.

The book in question is a collection of stories by Nikolai Gogol, after whom Nikhil was christened when his dying Indian great-grandmother's name for him got lost in the mail. An artful image, that: Nikhil's true identity, hung up somewhere between India and the United States.

Nikhil becomes doubly a namesake. At first his father named him "Gogol" as a placeholder, in lieu of the name from the old country that never arrived, and only later "Nikhil," when tradition dictated that a more formal handle was required. The young man comes to hate both names: Nikhil because he's grown used to Gogol, and eventually Gogol, too, because it sounds even more foreign and hard to explain than Nikhil did.

In zeroing in on her hero's name to epitomize his identity crisis, Lahiri is, as usual, right on the money. Names have always been contested territory in immigrant families. Any Ntshona who ever became a Washington, any Fernando who ever went by "Freddy," any Lefkowitzes or Shmulovitzes who became Lakes and Smalls, can take a seat at the Ganguli table and feel right at home.

As Nikhil/Gogol grows up, attends Yale, becomes an architect and gets married, he gradually outgrows his family, or at least thinks he does. Only as he ponders starting a family of his own does Nikhil/Gogol discover that birthrights, unlike short pants, can be handed down but never fully outgrown.

A certain sameness begins to creep in midway through the book -- explicable,

if not completely excusable, as its picaresque hero's compulsion to trace the same neurotic patterns over and over. Several times we watch the oddly friendless Nikhil/Gogol meet the perfect woman, then see it all go comically, excruciatingly wrong.

Only near the end do we see that we've been expertly set up, that what passed for deft if slightly repetitive misadventures may really be the painful,

Portnoyish loneliness of the immigrant's son. As at the end of "The Graduate, " Lahiri gives us a romantic resolution and then leaves the camera running, overshooting her fairy-tale happy ending and granting us something wiser, darker, fuller.

Indirectly, Lahiri may be suggesting that assimilation's hyphen is not so easily straddled. Unlike word choices -- oranges or clementines? -- choices between the old country and the new world don't always stay made.

Reviewed by David Kipen, Chronicle Book Critic...less

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Mark rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

04/22/08

bookshelves: recentlyread

Read in April, 2008

Three-and-a-half stars really. I think Lahiri is a great storyteller, and her writing often transcendent, especially where her characterization is concentrated in a powerful image: the Oxford shoes, symbolizing the arranged marriage Ashima is about to enter into and the move to America it will require, that she innocently, brazenly even, slips her bare feet into in the opening chapter; Ashoke's hand, clutching a torn page of Gogol's "The Overcoat," emerging from the pile of mangled bod...more Three-and-a-half stars really. I think Lahiri is a great storyteller, and her writing often transcendent, especially where her characterization is concentrated in a powerful image: the Oxford shoes, symbolizing the arranged marriage Ashima is about to enter into and the move to America it will require, that she innocently, brazenly even, slips her bare feet into in the opening chapter; Ashoke's hand, clutching a torn page of Gogol's "The Overcoat," emerging from the pile of mangled bodies in a train wreck being searched by a rescue crew near Calcutta. And the genre she has chosen, the (pre-)birth through acquired wisdom bildungsroman, is a hard one since it risks being too episodic, "a string of accidents" as Gogol Ganguly (the "namesake" of the title) muses near the end of the novel, a series of developments and predictable crises in a life. "The Namesake" also chronicles the immigration and assimilation of a family, so it verges on apologia--explanation and defense of decisions and cultural confusion. For Gogol is an "ABCD," an American-Born Confused [or Conflicted] Deshi, i.e. Indian. Lahiri has also chosen a clever thematic vehicle for contemplating the problems of cultural migration, integration, etc., in her focus on names and naming--the Bengali customs of naming children, usually involving the matriarch or patriarch of the family and a Hindu priest, which collide with the American requirement of officially naming babies before they leave the hospital (this is in part how Gogol comes to be named after his father's near-death experience and literary hero); the self-renaming of cultural figures (e.g., "even Nikolai Gogol renamed himself, simplifying his surname at the age of twenty-two from Gogol-Yanovsky...He had also published under the name Yanov, and once signed his work 'OOOO' in honor of the four o's in his full name," or the renamed Bob Dylan, Moliere, Leon Trotsky, Gerald Ford, and Engelbert Humperdinck [see p.99 for their birth names if you don't already know them])...

But, though mostly beautiful and enlightening, the writing often caters to (where does "cater" turn into "coddle"?) Lahiri's American readership and sometimes at key moments seems surprisingly truncated or contrived. For example, in a High School scene, an English teacher is describing in unbelievably explicit detail the gruesome death of the writer Gogol (from suicide by starvation) while the character Gogol shrinks with mortification into his desk. There the scene ends, with no outcome or commentary, the narrative jumping to an unrelated scene concerning girls at parties. The last part of the novel seems lame to me, beginning with...well, I won't spoil things further by saying.

"The Namesake" is a worthwhile read--not because Lahiri won a Pulitzer for her first book or because this first novel was adapted as a (quite good) movie, but because it does movingly dramatize the issues of immigration and cultural conflict I talk about above....less

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Sandy rated it:

(review of isbn 0006551807)

08/20/07

Read in August, 2007

It would only be fair to mention here that I saw Mira Nair's adaptation of the book before I actually got down to reading this novel recently. Having loved the film, I was keen to see how Lahiri had approached her characters and where its cinematic version stood in comparison.

I'll say two things. First, I feel this is one of the few times when the film more than does justice to the book and second, that the book itself is a deeply involving and affecting experience. In fact, so compassio...more
It would only be fair to mention here that I saw Mira Nair's adaptation of the book before I actually got down to reading this novel recently. Having loved the film, I was keen to see how Lahiri had approached her characters and where its cinematic version stood in comparison.

I'll say two things. First, I feel this is one of the few times when the film more than does justice to the book and second, that the book itself is a deeply involving and affecting experience. In fact, so compassionate and compelling is the writer's understanding of her characters and their complexes, that the novel stays uniformly engaging till the very last page. Also, it helps that this is an extremely easy read and I for one, found myself going through it at a ravenous pace.

As a reader, one gets instantly drawn into the lives of young Ashima and Ashoke, who are a bundle of nerves in an alien country, far from adoring relatives and friends in Calcutta. The writer's description of how the couple grapples with the ways of a new world yet tightly holding on to their roots is deeply moving and rings true at every point.

When a letter from their grandmother in India, enclosing the name for their first born doesn't arrive in time, Ashoke instinctively and naively (as their son says later in life) names him Gogol- a name, derived from the Russian author, Nikolai Gogol, with whom the latter feels a deep connection. The name comes to embarrass their son as he grows older and is a reminder of his confused being -it's not even a proper Bengali name, he protests!

Gogol's agony is not so much about being born to Indian parents, as much as being saddled with a name that seems to convey nothing, in a way accentuating his feeling of "not really belonging to anything"
After much internal struggle, he changes his name to a more acceptable Indian name, Nikhil and feels it would enable him to face the world more confidently.

But for me personally, the best part of the novel was Gogol's marriage to his childhood family friend Maushami Muzumdar. The latter is far from a conventional Bengali girl and Gogol is attracted to her individualistic streak and high living. In many ways, Maushami bridges a certain important gap in his mind and presents to him the best of both worlds --- she's Bengali like him, so in a strange way that's a comforting feeling. At the same time, she displays the same excessive, broadminded living of the Americans.

However, the fact that this relationship collapses and leaves no mark in their individual lives whatsoever, is also a telling statement about how, ultimately, coming from a similar background provides no guarantee for marital success. On the other hand, his sister Sonia's marriage to an American proves to be quite blissful.

I've presented only an abridged version of my review but those with inclination to read further can see it my blog; www.sandyi.blogspot.com...less

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Eileen rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

11/26/07

Read in November, 2007

Sometimes, when you read a story, the author will state the the story is true, but the names and details have been changed to protect the identity of the characters. Well, 'The Namesake' was clearly not a story about my life, but the novel was full of details from my life, all the little things that would have been changed if it was actually my story.
Really, the premise of our stories are similar. Asian parents move to the States and their kids grow up somewhere between the two cultures, not r...more Sometimes, when you read a story, the author will state the the story is true, but the names and details have been changed to protect the identity of the characters. Well, 'The Namesake' was clearly not a story about my life, but the novel was full of details from my life, all the little things that would have been changed if it was actually my story.
Really, the premise of our stories are similar. Asian parents move to the States and their kids grow up somewhere between the two cultures, not really fitting in with either. My family, of course, is not Bengali. My parents did not have an arranged marriage. My older sibling is not a brother named after a Russian author. However, there were some striking similarities that really started to unnerve me.
-Dad came to the States to get a PhD in engineering
-Mom came rather unwillingly to the States with her husband
-The five year difference between sibling one and sibling two
-The setting of the story, a suburb outside of Boston, could very possibly be the suburb where I grew up
-The house in which the children were raised: newly built, 3 bedroom, flagstone pathway
-The parents pretty much only had friends of the same ethnicity
-The parties where all the parents sat around speaking in their native tongue, while first generation children played and watched television in the basement, speaking English
-Being to speak your home language, but not being able to read or write
-The trips to the home country where the entire time is spent visiting relatives and listening to American music on your walkman
-How upset the mom got when main character goes off to college and refers to the dorm as 'home'
-The ABCD identity: in the book the phrase refers to American-born Confused/Conflicted Desi... (not American Born Chinese Dyke, obviously)
-The overabundance of food the mom cooks
-The mom's expectation for the adult kids to call every day and visit every weekend
-Confusion by others over the main character's ethnicity
-The older sibling never lives more than a few hours from the parents' house, while the younger one bounces all over the States
-Going to Paris with your Francophone partner who doesn't really interpret what other people are saying
-The books left in their bedrooms after the adult children have moved out of their parents' house
While reading the book, I got rather enraged at the main characters disregard for his culture and his parents. I think a lot of it was actually feelings of guilt, though, because I have often felt the same way and done the same things (i.e. not telling my mother I am actually going on vacation because I she will be upset I am not coming home to visit her).
All in all, the book was expectedly excellent....less

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Daisey rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

06/20/07

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in December, 2005

If you want to know how I feel about Lahiri, see my review for Interpreter.

That being said, I agree with a lot of people I've spoken to about this...point being, I prefer her in short story form.

The way this novel is structured is very linear. Pretty straight forward. You see Gogol Ganguli, the protagonist, going from childhood to adulthood. No flashbacks, except for a few, few moments here and there. She also writes this kind of in short story form...meaning, I can kind of tell she's ...more If you want to know how I feel about Lahiri, see my review for Interpreter.

That being said, I agree with a lot of people I've spoken to about this...point being, I prefer her in short story form.

The way this novel is structured is very linear. Pretty straight forward. You see Gogol Ganguli, the protagonist, going from childhood to adulthood. No flashbacks, except for a few, few moments here and there. She also writes this kind of in short story form...meaning, I can kind of tell she's a short story writer. I don't know why, but the transitions of the novel suggest it. It's not as smooth. It's not a perfect, perfect novel, but it is one that I love.

Lahiri is so specific in this novel, to the point when she writes down what Gogol's ATM number is. Her real gift is her details, and she's not detailed in that at times overbearing Dickens' sort of way (don't get me wrong, I love him, but you know what I mean), but she's detailed in that way where I can literally feel Ashima's weight on my stomach, the wrinkles on her forehead as she thinks about raising a child in this country, and the purple purple color of her onions. That kind of visual, which makes this book, the appropriate description would be, delicious!

Four of my friends read this after I recommended it and these are their general thoughts:

1) Awesome!
2) It's beautiful but I didn't understand it because I am not Indian. There are certain things I might not relate to. But this novel made me teary from the beginning. And not in a sappy way.
3) I had a hard time reading this being an Indian American. It was so similar to my life, I felt like I was reading my biography. I had to put it down and pick it up several times. It was painful, but painful in a good way.
4) Wow...I can't even describe why this book is good. It just got to me.

So that was their responses to me, essentially what they said to me in a nutshell, and I'm so glad I told them about it!

Oh yeah, I have a fifth reader (one of my friends, Isobel) and I gave her a copy as well. I never asked her what she thought, but I slept over her house for a week, and we started to read this to each other in bed before we went to bed each night, so I'm guessing she likes it too.

And really, the only difference between a four and a five is the gut feeling for me. So my gut tells me FIVE! and the books I gave a four to, I loved too, but it's different. I can't even tell you why, but it's more of my gut, which is probably different from everyone else's gut. Okay, I'll shut up now.

Yar.

Oh yeah! The movie is beautiful, as well. A Mira Nair and Jhumpa Lahiri combo only add up to good things. ...less

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Ali rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

07/29/07

bookshelves: novels

In spite of Lahiri following Gogol / Nikhil all way down to the end, (whom I don’t see very much interesting, neither sympathic nor antipathic), my heart is fully with Ashima: “she who is limited”. Opening chapter with her giving birth, is a brilliant start, as it’s also her new birth in US after another rebirth when she marrys in Culcutta: “her last moments as Ashima Bhadori, before becoming Ashima Ganguli”, (wonderfull description). When ever comes to Ashima, Lahiri is more honest ...more In spite of Lahiri following Gogol / Nikhil all way down to the end, (whom I don’t see very much interesting, neither sympathic nor antipathic), my heart is fully with Ashima: “she who is limited”. Opening chapter with her giving birth, is a brilliant start, as it’s also her new birth in US after another rebirth when she marrys in Culcutta: “her last moments as Ashima Bhadori, before becoming Ashima Ganguli”, (wonderfull description). When ever comes to Ashima, Lahiri is more honest and delicate in details, more flowing, fluent and belivable, as if she herself has been lived Ashima’s hiden pains in salitude with such an unexampled forbearance. For me Namesake is Ashima’s journey from Calcuta to Cambridge (US) and back to Calcutta, a journey of 33 years of differ and diverses, of living “limited”.
I love the difinitive between petname (daknam) and goodname (bhalonam), one for intimates one for officials. Though Gogol changes his name to Nickil on page 102, but Lahiri calls him Gogol to the end (p.291) what Ashima and Ashoke do. Seems Lahiri is also part of the family, as it’s supposed that only family members whould use petname.
Apart from too much bla bla on foods, transport and many other unneccessory scenes and details (almost one third of the novel), I liked it very much. Living in India for two years and spending 27 years of my life in exile, I feel very much familiar with Namesake! From now on, when ever I need to define “cultural differences” I would love to say: “In Bengali, a finger can also mean fingers, a toe toes!”
I liked the first 7 chapters, mostly the 7th. It would be a big regret if I haven’t read Namesake. With a big thank to Naomi for her recommendation.

شنیده ام و ندیده ام که این رمان با عنوان "همنام" به فارسی ترجمه شده است. همنام؟ نمی دانم این سلیقه ی مترجم است یا ناشر تصور کرده است بجای "بخاطر اسم" یا "به سبب نام" یا چیزی شبیه به این ها، شاید "همنام" باعث فروش بهتری شود! کاری که این طرف ها برخی ناشران انجام می دهند و در تجارت کتاب، کار غلطی هم محسوب نمی شود. با این همه "همنام" اصلن بار عنوان کتاب و متن را نمی کشد، چرا که در این عنوان ده ها حرف هست که شاید یک مهاجر در فرهنگی دیگر، فرهنگ میزبان، (بیگانه؟) به گونه ای دیگر تجربه می کند. ...less

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Andy rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

07/23/07

bookshelves: readownedloved

I was familiar with, but had not seen, the film "The Namesake" directed by Mira Nair before I had really paid any attention the novel, or was even really aware that there was a novel. Of course I had heard of "Interpreter of Maladies", but still had not read it yet. So, while at the bookstore and picking out a few things to get, I noticed "The Namesake", and remembered people saying the movie was very good, and since I prefer books to movies, when it comes down to...more I was familiar with, but had not seen, the film "The Namesake" directed by Mira Nair before I had really paid any attention the novel, or was even really aware that there was a novel. Of course I had heard of "Interpreter of Maladies", but still had not read it yet. So, while at the bookstore and picking out a few things to get, I noticed "The Namesake", and remembered people saying the movie was very good, and since I prefer books to movies, when it comes down to it, and since I knew I would want to see the film when it becomes available on dvd, I figured I should buy and read the book, and I did.

I loved the way that Lahiri portrayed the day to day difficulties of immigration--not so much the more extreme prejudices that exist about immigration, but things that a person, an immigrant, must feel and recognize and deal with every single day, and also, through that, the complexity of being first-generation American, being a child of parents of a culture very different from New England culture. I think white America, even so-called open-minded, politically and socially progressive, social justice and civil rights advocating white America, can be naive, ignorant, and insensitive to the strain of immigration. I think we too often take it too lightly, too much as a story, or an oddity, or a fascinating bit of conversation, as most of us do with all things when we hear of difficult (or maybe just different) situations people other than ourselves are dealing with. I think it's important to really try to see things from other perspectives, to get outside of ourselves, and I think the Namesake does this very well.

What I did not like about the Namesake is that, while the writing was very good, Lahiri is definitely a talented writer, it felt that the narrative was perhaps a little too distant, at too much remove, from the characters it portrayed. I understood Gogol/Nikhil as an individual in only a general sort of way, almost a superficial way. It felt, at times, like I was reading a report of his life--a well-written and often detailed and fascinating report, but more of a report than, well, a novel. There were moments and situations that were loaded with implications of emotional and cultural difficulty and complexity that were described in such a brief and understated manner that felt glossed over, almost unaddressed. Because of this, I felt less affected, less involved, as a reader. Also, because of this, I wonder if this is not one of those rare situations where the film may be a little better than the novel. ...less

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Holli rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

04/29/08

I listened to this one on tape and really enjoyed the performance by Sarita Choudhury. I like the way Lahiri shifts tone when she shifts point of view. When we see the story from Ashima's point of view, the tone is restrained, timid, almost veiled. When the point of view shifts to Gogol, the tone becomes more forthright and a little angry. Overall, the book has a refined feeling to it. Even though the characters are trying to make their way in this culture and in this life, they maintain...more I listened to this one on tape and really enjoyed the performance by Sarita Choudhury. I like the way Lahiri shifts tone when she shifts point of view. When we see the story from Ashima's point of view, the tone is restrained, timid, almost veiled. When the point of view shifts to Gogol, the tone becomes more forthright and a little angry. Overall, the book has a refined feeling to it. Even though the characters are trying to make their way in this culture and in this life, they maintain their dignity and respect for one another.--hr

Amazon.com
Any talk of The Namesake--Jhumpa Lahiri's follow-up to her Pulitzer Prize-winning debut, Interpreter of Maladies--must begin with a name: Gogol Ganguli. Born to an Indian academic and his wife, Gogol is afflicted from birth with a name that is neither Indian nor American nor even really a first name at all. He is given the name by his father who, before he came to America to study at MIT, was almost killed in a train wreck in India. Rescuers caught sight of the volume of Nikolai Gogol's short stories that he held, and hauled him from the train. Ashoke gives his American-born son the name as a kind of placeholder, and the awkward thing sticks.
Awkwardness is Gogol's birthright. He grows up a bright American boy, goes to Yale, has pretty girlfriends, becomes a successful architect, but like many second-generation immigrants, he can never quite find his place in the world. There's a lovely section where he dates a wealthy, cultured young Manhattan woman who lives with her charming parents. They fold Gogol into their easy, elegant life, but even here he can find no peace and he breaks off the relationship. His mother finally sets him up on a blind date with the daughter of a Bengali friend, and Gogol thinks he has found his match. Moushumi, like Gogol, is at odds with the Indian-American world she inhabits. She has found, however, a circuitous escape: "At Brown, her rebellion had been academic ... she'd pursued a double major in French. Immersing herself in a third language, a third culture, had been her refuge--she approached French, unlike things American or Indian, without guilt, or misgiving, or expectation of any kind." Lahiri documents these quiet rebellions and random longings with great sensitivity. There's no cleverness or showing-off in The Namesake, just beautifully confident storytelling. Gogol's story is neither comedy nor tragedy; it's simply that ordinary, hard-to-get-down-on-paper commodity: real life. --Claire Dederer
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Alicia rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

03/11/08

recommended to Alicia by: my book club
recommends it for: someone with ADD maybe

I know that real authors who write real books are not the same as the people in my writing groups. I understand that real authors can break rules that would drive the average writing group up a wall. Still ... I wished someone, anyone, would have given this book a critical read before it was published and told the author to cut some of the endless exposition. I even wish someone would have used that old trope: "show, don't tell." I hate getting that advice from writing groups, but ...more

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Annisa rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

12/07/07

Truthfully I've been wanting this book for a while, and finally got it and surprised to find how light it was. It took me more time than usual to finish reading this book... and I found myself in tears, which was a rare occurrence. It might be because of my repressed feeling, or the power of the words or... it might be a mix of both.

The first word I can think of to describe this book is ordinary. In truth it is so ordinary that you can imagine yourself as one of the characters easily. It's r...more Truthfully I've been wanting this book for a while, and finally got it and surprised to find how light it was. It took me more time than usual to finish reading this book... and I found myself in tears, which was a rare occurrence. It might be because of my repressed feeling, or the power of the words or... it might be a mix of both.

The first word I can think of to describe this book is ordinary. In truth it is so ordinary that you can imagine yourself as one of the characters easily. It's really easy for me to associate myself with Gogol, it might be because of our similar cultural background. Other than that, I personally feel there's nothing special with the weave of words, the author doesn't really bother in writing details, often jumping to once scene to another, but at the same time, the simplicity brings more strength into the words, the bluntness strikes easily a chord within me.

One thing I feel quite disturbing is the moving perspective, it doesn't remain loyal to one person's point of view, from Ashoke, Ashima, to Gogol. There were certain parts of the book when I want to see everyone's point of view but instead I only find half of it. There might be reasoning with the choice, but it feels like unable to fully understand the characters and their feelings throughout their days. Such as Ashoke's to his son's wish to change his name, Gogol's feelings along his marriage, etc. When I finished the book, it felt way too short to my liking.

Again this down-to-earth story is so easy to relate by any of us, the need of fitting in, the need of being acknowledged, the need to make your own mark... the happenings in life, such as birth, marriage, and death that can happen so suddenly that you can't help to be startled in its wake. The lives of the characters aren't perfect, like any of us.

It's somehow saddening and relieving to see it all comes in full circle. The person who refuses his name and his culture looking for his identity finally finds it within the things he refused in the first place. Finding solace within it, even it was way too long, but never too late.

Simply to put, it's worth to read....less

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Anna rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

07/08/07

bookshelves: indian-lit

Read in December, 2006

After finishing the Namesake, my thoughts were drawn to my last roommate in college, an Indian woman studying for her PHD in Psychology. When I first moved in, she had just broken up with her white boyfriend. “It never would have worked out anyway…” she had cried. By the end of that same year she was flying of to Houston to be wed to a man she had only seen once, a marriage arranged by their parents. Many nights my other roommate (an exchange student from Berlin) and I would sit out on the...more

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Kevin rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

04/27/08

In the early 1960s, Ashoke Ganguli nearly died in his native India. The only thing that saved him, odd as it may sound, was a collection of short stories by Russian author Nikolai Gogol. Now, several years later and after having moved to the United States with his new wife, Ashima, Ashoke finds himself in a dilemma. In order to leave the hospital with their newborn son, they must provide administrators with a name for the baby. However, in keeping with Indian tradition, Ashoke and Ashima are wai...more In the early 1960s, Ashoke Ganguli nearly died in his native India. The only thing that saved him, odd as it may sound, was a collection of short stories by Russian author Nikolai Gogol. Now, several years later and after having moved to the United States with his new wife, Ashima, Ashoke finds himself in a dilemma. In order to leave the hospital with their newborn son, they must provide administrators with a name for the baby. However, in keeping with Indian tradition, Ashoke and Ashima are waiting for a name to be chosen by her mother who is still back in India. When the name doesn't arrive, the two new parents quickly choose the name Gogol, in tribute to one of Ashoke's favorite authors. However, the story of the accident that nearly killed him is kept as one of his innermost secrets.

The rest of the book follows the family through three decades of life in America. Gogol and his sister, Sonia, try their best to fit in and be all things "American" while their parents attempt to balance aspects of their new life while not forgetting their old ways. From this point on, the focus of the story is Gogol as he struggles with acceptance of what he considers a stupid name and how his self-centered perception of how it affects his life.

I apologize for the horrible description I gave of what is easily one of the most beautifully told stories I have ever read. I actually read this book two months ago and have struggled to find words adequate enough to describe this novel. When they never came to me, I decided I just needed to get word about this book out, regardless of whether or not my review can do it justice.

In the most understandable terms possible, Jhumpa Lahiri has crafted one of the most wonderfully written and layered stories of family life in the United States as possible. From the fear and hope felt by Ashoke and Ashima as they move to a strange land to the cynicism displayed by Gogol as he navigates through life. It's a story full of desire, despair, love, and pain and I highly recommend you come along for the ride....less

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Meredith rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

10/24/07

Read in January, 2006

2.5/5
This book is a family saga from the initial immigration of a wife and husband from India to The States which goes on to talk about the life of their son. Their son, Gogol, appears to be confused as to what his identity is and is conflicted over honoring tradition and the culture of a new world. This book is somewhat entertaining and interesting, but really did not leave any profound marks. Most of the book is light and almost reads like a soap opera at times (going from one meaningless ...more

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Johnsergeant rated it:

(review of isbn 0618485228)

09/30/07

bookshelves: audiblecom, audiobook

Read in April, 2007

Downloaded from Audible.com

Excellent and moving novel, also a great movie.

Narrator: Sarita Choudhury
Publisher: Random House Audio, 2003
Length: 10 hours and 5 min.

Publisher's Summary

The Namesake follows the Ganguli family through its journey from Calcutta to Cambridge to the Boston suburbs. Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli arrive in America at the end of the 1960s, shortly after their arranged marriage in Calcutta, in order for Ashoke to finish his engineering degree at MIT. Ashoke i...more

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Michele rated it: