book review - "the namesake"
Finished last week while commuting.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Family Drama
Summary: Follows the Ganguli family, as newly married Ashoke & Ashima Ganguli family immigrate to America in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Through a series of mishaps their son is named Gogol and his life is shaped by his struggle with his identity.
Strengths: Does not sugarcoat the realities of immigration and culture clash
Weaknesses: Shifting POVs expand the novel's exploration of the issues, but weakens the overall narrative flow
Overall: Your mileage may vary - may shed light on the immigration and internal cultural conflict for persons raised in their home country & culture. Hits uncomfortably close to home for children of immigrants.
Mini-review:
Dear god this book was embarrassing to read. I found too much of myself in Gogol to really enjoy it as a work of fiction. For me the majority of this book was "remember when you were young and dumb" and "don't you regret doing X?" I've read other books featuring immigrant or second generation protagonists that I've enjoyed but this was just wince-worthy. I'm glad that the author didn't cheapen the struggle of internal cultural identity conflict by having the protagonist have a wrapped-up perfect happy ending. Yet at the same time it was depressing.
The 'moral-of-the-story' so to speak seemed to be "you will never be wholly at peace with your identity...good luck with that!" The protagonist did get some solace but nothing was truly resolved.
According to wikipedia the book was originally a novella that was later expanded into a novel. I think it might have worked better as a novella as the finished novel lags terribly in spots and seems to lose narrative flow.
It's worth a read if you want insight into the issue of cultural identity and you really enjoy slice-of-life stories. Otherwise you may want to pass on this one.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Family Drama
Summary: Follows the Ganguli family, as newly married Ashoke & Ashima Ganguli family immigrate to America in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Through a series of mishaps their son is named Gogol and his life is shaped by his struggle with his identity.
Strengths: Does not sugarcoat the realities of immigration and culture clash
Weaknesses: Shifting POVs expand the novel's exploration of the issues, but weakens the overall narrative flow
Overall: Your mileage may vary - may shed light on the immigration and internal cultural conflict for persons raised in their home country & culture. Hits uncomfortably close to home for children of immigrants.
Mini-review:
Dear god this book was embarrassing to read. I found too much of myself in Gogol to really enjoy it as a work of fiction. For me the majority of this book was "remember when you were young and dumb" and "don't you regret doing X?" I've read other books featuring immigrant or second generation protagonists that I've enjoyed but this was just wince-worthy. I'm glad that the author didn't cheapen the struggle of internal cultural identity conflict by having the protagonist have a wrapped-up perfect happy ending. Yet at the same time it was depressing.
The 'moral-of-the-story' so to speak seemed to be "you will never be wholly at peace with your identity...good luck with that!" The protagonist did get some solace but nothing was truly resolved.
According to wikipedia the book was originally a novella that was later expanded into a novel. I think it might have worked better as a novella as the finished novel lags terribly in spots and seems to lose narrative flow.
It's worth a read if you want insight into the issue of cultural identity and you really enjoy slice-of-life stories. Otherwise you may want to pass on this one.