The Namesake



Name of the Book:   The Namesake
Name of the Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Publisher:                  HarperCollins
No. of Pages:            291


The Namesake explores the life of a Bengali family settled in the USA whose native-home is in Kolkata, India. The focaliser is a boy named Gogol later renamed as Nikhil; the interaction between a person and his name. The Namesake, is a gradually paced book about the joys and challenges of a family living as expatriates: Are they able to retain their cultural identity? How do they see themselves with respect to foreigners? What creates a gap between the parents and the children? Where do they meet? Therefore, some themes are universal which connect the native-readers to the novel while others disconnect them.

The novel is structured in chronological order with an ounce of flashbacks that help in making the present more understandable. It begins with the birth of the first child of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli (Gogol) and ends with…

The style of writing is extremely straightforward which might bore a reader who esteems the play with language more. Most of the events pass by quickly through summaries like the swift passage of time. However, these qualities of the narration make it very readable and accessible; one that is not bogged down by too many descriptions.

Some scenes are very moving: for instance, the part in which Ashoke reveals to Gogol about his accident, and when Ashoke passes away. In this light, the novel may not be called a very cheerful one; it is rather gloomy to read about the lonesome struggles of each individual who do not communicate much between each other.

 The novel explores the theme of romantic and familial love without speaking about it. What should a marriage be based on? A love-marriage withers in no time whereas an arranged-marriage lasts throughout. Gogol has some unsuccessful love-affairs and a failed marriage. As far as familial love is concerned, through Gogol’s observation, one sees the differences between his own family and Maxine’s (one of his girlfriends).

All in all, if at all one picks up this book, it should be to relish in the various themes that make and propel it and fall in love with the endearing characters: each one with a unique personality and mindset. I seriously hope that it should not make the reader despise and change her name subsequently!

                                                                                                                                        -Kriti Malhotra



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