Interestingly, the moment he changes his name he seems to lose all semblance of personality, and so does the book. From that point onwards the narrative becomes a tedious and pretentious exercise in name-dropping--of Ivy League schools, trendy New York eateries and neighborhoods, and expensive foods and wines. There is Asiago cheese and spaghetti alle vongole, Merlot and Chianti, steak rolled in bundles. The narrative meanders aimlessly, interspersed by dull affairs and stock plot devices. Two characters drop dead of sudden heart attacks, and a third of an aneurism. A woman breaks off her engagement by throwing her ring into a traffic jam, and is slapped in return. And it's a minor point, but maybe the book's copy editors were so charmed by Ms. Lahiri's prose that they failed to notice that the hero "wretches" into a tiny metal basin on page 179. I certainly did. I felt like "wretching" myself--with boredom.

In her collection "Interpreter of Maladies," Jhumpa Lahiri showed tremendous promise as a short story writer. She would do well to stick to her earlier chosen metier in the future, too.


Caught between two cultures   September 14, 2007
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

"The Namesake" is the story of Gogol Ganguli, a man born to Indian parents who moved to America shortly after they were married. Gogol's name has always been a source of deep resentment for him, as it is neither Indian or American. Eventually Gogol opts to have his name legally changed before he leaves for college. In addition to adjusting to his new name, Gogol continues with a struggle he's faced his entire life: How to relate to and maintain his Indian culture while living on American soil. Gogol rejects most things about his heritage, preferring to lead a more "Americanized" lifestyle. His choices create a barrier between him and his family, but try as he might, Gogol never feels completely at ease within the American culture, either. He establishes a successful career for himself and has has several serious relationships, but Gogol never really finds a comfortable place for himself in this world. Eventually he finds happiness with an Indian woman, of all people, who relates to him on so many levels. However, Moushumi has her own way of rebelling, and at the end of the novel we find Gogol back at the very place his life began, where he begins to rediscover himself.

I fell in love with this book after reading the first few pages, and I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed it even more than author Jhumpa Lahiri's collection of short stories, "Interpreter of Maladies." Lahiri writes in a simple yet emotional style that is rich in detail. Although the novel revolves around Gogol, Lahiri occasionally shifts perspective and gives the reader a glimpse of the story from the eyes of Gogol's parents and Moushumi. All of the characters make a lot of mistakes, but I was able to easily relate to and empathize with each of them.

This is a book about family, identity, heritage, and self-discovery. You don't have to be the child of immigrants in order to relate to the process of pulling apart from your family and discovering the person you're destined to become. I think this book has something to offer everyone, and it also happens to be a beautiful, poignant story. "The Namesake" is a must-read.


The Namesake   September 12, 2003
 15 out of 28 found this review helpful

I could hardly wait to read this book, given how much I enjoyed Interpreter of Maladies. Unfortunately, it seems as if Ms. Lahiri's talents lie in the short story. As enjoyable as living in Boston and riding on the Green Line while reading about it in her book was, most of this book was flat and tone-less; a short story forced into a novel's big shoes. Being a South-asian American woman myself, most of the events and characters are those out of my own life, but Ms. Lahiri's cultural references (ABCD etc.) are old and tired. This book may appeal to those seeking insight into the South Asian immigrant experience; the rest of the book is choppy and seems patched together with very frail thread.
My advice to all those who loved Interpreter of Maladies is to not read this book, as it will most likely be a disappointment.


Did the Author Stop to Think.......At All??   October 16, 2003
 15 out of 37 found this review helpful

I did like the Interpreter of Maladies.
Though not one of my all-time favorites, it certainly had its moments of some splendid literature.

So what happened in this work of Ms. Lahiri's?

Utterly boring, completely cliched and totally a waste of time, this book portrays an aspect of a community, that was real, perhaps, a 100 years ago.

Biased, prejudiced and mostly incorrect, this book is surviving either on ignorance, or because it feeds greedily from the innumerable stereotypes that have surrounded the Indian Immigrant population for years.
And, today, through this book, Ms. Lahiri has single-handedly destroyed the years of effort spent by numerous individuals in dispelling the STEREOTYPES surrounding their life-styles.

She has, through this book, restored those cliches and stereotypes firmly back in place!