Product Description

'The Namesake' is the story of a boy brought up Indian in America. 'When her grandmother learned of Ashima's pregnancy, she was particularly thrilled at the prospect of naming the family's first sahib. And so Ashima and Ashoke have agreed to put off the decision of what to name the baby until a letter comes!' For now, the label on his hospital cot reads simply BABY BOY GANGULI. But as time passes and still no letter arrives from India, American bureaucracy takes over and demands that 'baby boy Ganguli' be given a name. In a panic, his father decides to nickname him 'Gogol' -- after his favourite writer. Brought up as an Indian in suburban America, Gogol Ganguli soon finds himself itching to cast off his awkward name, just as he longs to leave behind the inherited values of his Bengali parents. And so he sets off on his own path through life, a path strewn with conflicting loyalties, love and loss! Spanning three decades and crossing continents, Jhumpa Lahiri's much-anticipated first novel is a triumph of humane story-telling. Elegant, subtle and moving, 'The Namesake' is for everyone who loved the clarity, sympathy and grace of Lahiri's Pulitzer Prize-winning debut story collection, 'Interpreter of Maladies'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9976 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
'Extraordinary!a book that spins gold out of the straw of ordinary lives. The calm, pellucid grace of her prose, the sustained stretch of crystal clear writing, its elegant pianissimo tone, pulls the reader from beginning to end in one neat arc. Every detail, every observation, every sentence rings with the clarity of truth. The Namesake is a novel that makes its reader feel privileged to be allowed access to its immensely empathetic world.' The Times 'The kind of writer who makes you want to grab the next person and say "Read this!"' Amy Tan 'Impeccably written' Daily Mail 'Gracious!.in refined, empathetic prose!each of Lahiri's characters patches together their own identity, making this resonant fable neither uniquely Asian nor uniquely American, but tenderly, wryly human.' Hephzibah Anderson, The Observer 'This is certainly a novel that explores the concepts of cultural identity, of rootlessness, of tradition and familial expectation!but !it never succumbs to the cliches those themes so often entail. Instead, Lahiri turns it into something both larger and simpler: the story of a man and his family, of his life and hopes, loves and sorrows. She has a talent -- magical, sly, cumulative -- that most writers would kill for.' Julie Myerson, The Guardian 'Jhumpa Lahiri's excellent first novel! is the work of a fine writer, discriminating, compassionate and surprising. It is, too, a story for our times.' Rachel Cusk, Evening Standard 'A joy to read.' Sunday Telegraph 'Eloquent!Lahiri's prose is striking. Spurning the antsy, transcultural wordplay of many Asian-American authors, she writes with journalistic precision. Like a Victorian urban chronicler, she loves to amass inventories. Things matter to her and to her characters; they are bulwarks against drift and confusion. The Namesake!is lucid, generous in its narrative scope, and an extremely accomplished first novel.' Sukhdev Sandhu, Daily Telegraph 'Covering about 30 years!the novel manages to represent, without patronising, life within the confines of a professional expatriate enclave. Lahiri is at her best when mapping these confines, and the conflicts between individual pursuits and family loyalties!.Fluid, accessible and!very good indeed.' The Independent 'Good novelists, like Bengali parents, must make their creations unique, and Lahiri's central characters are painfully believable!.An extremely good first novel, a glowing miniature of a tiny family making the voyage between two worlds.' Maggie Gee

Observer
'Couched in poised and lucid prose, THE NAMESAKE is an exquisite tale, full of fine and fragile humour.'

Guardian
'Gogol is an American everyman, but his ordinary experiences of straddling two cultures is told with exceptional skill.'

Customer Reviews

The Namesake
The Namesake is Jhumpa Lahiri's first novel although it is her second book. Her first was the Interpreter of Maladies, a well received short story collection that won several awards. The Namesake follows the Ganguli family, the Bengali immigrants Ashima and Ashoke and their American-born children, over a period of 30 years. The main focus of the book is on their son, Gogol, born in 1968. Instead of being named by an elderly relative in India, a series of events unfold leading to him being named after his father's favourite author, the Russian Nikolai Gogol. This is the namesake of the title.

We follow Gogol throughout the first three decades of his life through his ups and downs, his childhood, his education, his relationships, his career and, most of all, his various identity crises. From an early age he belives that he doesn't really fit in, he feels that he alone in the entire world has Gogol as a first name. Also he embraces the American way of life, unlike his parents who try to keep to their traditional Indian way and this too causes him strife. Before going to college he invents a new identity for himself and changes his name to Nikhil, which is both suitably Indian but can be shortened to the more American Nick. Over time both he and his parents adjust their ways of thinking. His parents grow to enjoy American customs such as Christmas and the benefits of American life, while Nikhil embraces his Indian heritage.

The structure of the book seems to hark back to Interpreter of Maladies, it is written in almost a short story style, with different chapters being told from several different character perspectives. Fortunately this is tied together with consistent themes and a mainly constant cast of characters. However, frustratingly, a lot of potential action is lost in between different chapters; relationships end in a blink of an eye and characters disappear never to be mentioned again. Despite this the book draws you along with the depth of its characterisation of both the major and peripheral characters. Jhumpa Lahiri has a passion for her subject and this shows in her writing. She makes you care and feel for Gogol and his family. The book is at once, warm and profound, comforting and deep. Her insight into both cultures, American and Indian coupled with well written prose makes this book both an education as well as a pleasure to read.

Brilliant
Some of the finest writing I've read. Lahiri gently draws you into her characters in a way that reminds me of Seth's writing in A Suitable Boy. She manages to exquisitely depict the complexities and nuances that exist within a single person. It is a poignant telling of the shifting of immigrants' identity and role within society, and of the conflicts arising in their offspring that strikes a particular chord with me as a second generation child in the UK. I look forward to reading more of her work.

Thank you Lahiri
First read "Interepreter of Maladies" - a wonderful collection of short stories in which Lahiri focuses on the subject of the (Bengali/Indian) immigrant experience. And, then, read this: easily the finest novel of 2003.

I was utterly compelled by the plot of "The Namesake"; equally impressed by the subtle narrative voice; the beautifully crafted characters; and the ideological questions (and answers) the book proposes.

As a "second generation" Anglo-Pakistani, my empathy for the themes of this book were heightened because the characters (Ashima, Ashoke, Gogol) came to almost shockingly exemplify my own parents and me. I had an experience with which to relate the subject matter of the novel, but even if that's not the case with you; read this book. It is a life affirming experience: one that I will never forget.

Thank you Lahiri.