The Namesake: A Novel by Jhumpa Lahiri
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Book Reviews of The Namesake: A Novel
Book Review: My security blanket
Summary: 5 Stars
It's hard to believe that a book can make you feel less alone in this world. Reading this book I laughed, cried, sympathized and identified with each of the characters at different points in their journey. From the frustration of the parents raising a teenager in a new country (was I really that annoying at 16?) to the main character's post college experiences and the sense of loss that arises from personal tragedy. Even now my eyes well up just knowing that I am not the only one who has faced the same range of emotions and personal challenges, that it's okay and I will figure it out. I could kiss Lahiri's feet for creating a book that I can cling to, much like the father in her story, when I need something to bring me back to reality and appreciate my own life even more for it's color and variety.... and no I am not Indian and yes, I still feel this strongly about the book's strength to move a person emotionally.Book Review: Highly recommended
Summary: 5 Stars
I thought this book was absolutely beautiful, one of the few books of recent vintage that I've read over and over again. It is also a pretty quick read, easy to finish in just a few long sittings.
I especially loved the parts of the story that drive home how difficult it is to live in a foreign country, as told through the eyes of the parents. Lahiri is able to make this point without being explicit, preachy, or forceful. And although the book will be the most explicitly relevant to the children of Indian immigrants, it finds a much wider audience not only among all second-gen Americans, but also among those who feel torn between their parents' lives and their own. I am in the latter group, and I was fascinated to read how Gogol navigates between the world he grew up in and the one creates for himself as an adult. Of course, finding a mixture between the two is the ultimate goal.
Book Review: a stranger in a strange land
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a first-generation American myself, and found I could relate so strongly to the situations and choices confronting the characters in Lahiri's little gem of a novel. She captures well the subtle--but not painless--shifts a family makes over the years as it moves toward assimilation.
And she does so in a thousand ways. One of the images that has stayed with me long after I read the book is in the opening scene, of the pregnant young women trying to concoct from incredients she bought in a US supermarket a spicy snack she had enjoyed in Indian that was sold on the streets of Calcutta.
It's the accumulation of these small details that makes this novel ring so true. All of us have felt some sort of cultural disconnect at some point in our lives. So it is very easy to identify with Lahiri's characters.
I'm eagerly waiting for more titles from this author.
Book Review: The book I recommend the most to anyone I meet
Summary: 5 Stars
Nobody wants a book summary. The point of a review is to express your opinion. So here it is: This book is simply AMAZING. I have an English degree, have read and critiqued many books and the ONE book I recommend to everyone and anyone I meet is The Namesake. It's beautifully written, detailed so well you feel yourself there, and the story is unassuming enough to be realistic. If you are fan of heavy drama and multiple climatic events, then this book is probably not for you. I believe this story is similar to that of "Interpreter of Maladies" as Lahiri captures the essence of realism and everyday life. It truly is an AMAZING read and I savored every page as if it were rich chocolate. The best book I've read since "The Joy Luck Club." Lahiri truly is a master at lyric with grace and subtlty that move you in ways you cannot explain, but just feel. Wonderful wonderful wonderful.Book Review: Surprise Favorite
Summary: 5 Stars
Like many other reviewers of this book, I read Interpreter of Maladies, Lahiri's Pulitzer-Prize-winning short story collections, several years ago. Yet I'm going to differentiate myself here a little and say that I, personally, enjoyed The Namesake more. I remember admiring the technical panache with which Lahiri drove her stories, but it didn't grab me. The Namesake, on the other hand, did from the very beginning.
It's true that the majority of The Namesake's action occurs internally. I think this kind of writing is tricky for many writers, but Lahiri succeeds in infusing each paragraph with so much astute, colorful description that her intense focus on what could be mundane detail never slips into tiring reading.
I would recommend this book to anyone, and plan to use it as a reminder to concentrate more on detail in my own writing.