The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri

Anyways, on to the book. Ashoke and Ashima are first generation immigrants to U.S. After getting his PhD from MIT, Ashoke moves (family in tow, of course) to a Boston suburb, to a nameless college and an eventless career. Ashima, ever the dutiful wife, gets over her acute boredom and discomfort once kids arrive. Socially, their lives revolve around the Weekend Bengali Friends Network. The book is mostly about their son, Gogol and how he hates his name for much of the book, changing it to Nikhil at the first chance he get. The latter parts of the story are spun around episodes in Gogol/Nikhil's life-- his various ill-fated relationships and Ashoke's death.

I like the book-- it is written beautifully. Jhumpa Lahiri has a way with words, unpretentious yet very beautiful. I hope to re-read the book again, more slowly. Here's a passage:

"They were brown shoes with black heels and off-white laces and stitching. There was a band of lentil-sized holes embossed on either side of each shoe, and at the tips was a pretty pattern pricked into the leather as if with a needle. Looking more closely, she saw the shoemaker's name on the inside, in gold lettering that had all but faded....Ashima, unable to resist a sudden and overwhelming urge, stepped into the shoes at her feet. Lingering sweat from the owner's feet mingled with hers, causing her heart to race; it was the closest thing she had ever experienced to the touch of a man. "

Just for comparison, see the following passage. It is from a review about this book!:

"Spanning three decades and two continents, The Namesake's story line is episodic, nearly picaresque, a literary form whose expansiveness and fluidity assert a sense of individual autonomy and mobility. The story limns the unforgiving and often repressive claims of memory and family tradition in unresolved discord with the equally insistent immigrant claims of establishing a new and meaningful identity in the New World."

I do have a couple of grouses about the book, though. The book pretends to care deeply about the Gogol/Nikhil dichotomy, especially in the initial parts; it tries to weave it in with his teenage angst, his relationships, and his eventual self-discovery. I can see the motivation for doing this but I wish she had found a better peg to hang the initial parts on. Parts of the plot are somewhat predictable but that doesn't take much away from the book. Another interesting thing about the book is how it rarely describes how Ashoke and Ashima feel. Their lives are described more by how Nikhil remembers them rather than by describing what goes on in their heads, though Lahiri *does* do the latter as well. I couldn't make up my mind as to whether Lahiri wanted me not to care much about Ashoke and Ashima or if she was portraying them as "reserved" people, the emotions hidden behind a facade of dull and mundane life.

On the whole, a great book. Although, I do wish Jhumpa Lahiri would stop writing about self-discovery and related emotional issues among first and second generation Indian-Americans. She's too good to beat this dead horse.

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Chrysler's new marketing slogan: Inspiration Comes Standard

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