The Namesake : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A must read for all Indians
Review: An insightful introduction into the minds of a society we Indians know nothing about. Excellent. Even better than her Pullitzer prize - winning Interpreter of Maladies. I would give it 6 stars if I could.

Rating:
Summary: Best novel I've read in years
Review: The Namesake is an amazingly touching and meaningful book. I loved it more than anything I can remember. I immediately wanted to read it again to savor all the rich details I might have missed the first time. Lahiri tells the familiar immigrant saga with such remarkable description that it makes the experience fresh for the reader -- the sights and sounds and feelings of strangers in a new land. Specifically, it's about an Indian family, but it could be any immigrant family. In fact it could be any non-immigrant family, because we all have experiences that isolate us from our parents and from our children, and yet we find connections in unexpected places: joy amid the homesickness, love in arranged marriage or disappointment in a love-match, family found in friendships. It's a beautiful book -- I can't praise it highly enough!

Rating:
Summary: Touching and realisitic
Review: I, being an immigrant to the US from India can truly relate to the characters of the novel. The character sketches are so deftly done that Jhumpa Lahiri should get 10/10 for it. Even mundane day-to-day activities do not seem to be boring by the way she writes. Also, a great part about the novel is the detail and meticulous nature of Mrs. Lahiri. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for a book that personifies the change a person from a foreign land has to undergo in terms of social and cultural adoption.

Rating:
Summary: Life of an ABCD! Freighting but yet so Accurate
Review: For stereotypical Indian immigrants who came to US for studies during the 60s and 70s, this book will be a rude biography reflecting their own life in US. The amount of life style details Jhumpa was able to squeeze into this NY times best seller, is amazing and intriguing.

The reason for the 4 stars instead of 5; the last chapter; though a bold one but too much of a drama, instead she could have ended differently.

Hope Mira Nair doesn't butcher this book while making it a movie!


Rating:
Summary: atmospheric detail but shallow inner lives
Review: I closed this book and exclaimed, "What a disappointment!" Ms. Lahiri's book of short stories was simply outstanding. To give her and "The Namesake" its due, this book is well-written and the characters of Gogol and his parents, Asoke and Ashima, are well-developed, and Ms. Lahiri is great at atmospheric detail. However, the book is like a story without a meaning or a point - that may be OK in short stories but in a novel it should be suicidal. Granted, you needn't write with a meaning or to have a point, but it is sad to see so little inner life and reflection in her characters, especially in Gogol who is 32 years old by the end of the book... He has been through three extended romances and affairs including one failed marriage. The way that he and Moushoumi slip so easily in and out of bed with others, i.e. how they sleep around, I find not to be representative of or a norm in second generation Indian American life. So much sex and never an an unintended pregnancy!... But I return, what is really disappointing is how shallow and superficial the inner life of Gogol is, something I don't feel is representative of people born between two cultures and two worlds...

Rating:
Summary: Less than Mediocre
Review: I won't bore you with a lot fancy talk and misspelled words about topics I know little or nothing about, but I will say this: The Namesake is a major disappointment, mainly because it's really a short story painfully dragged out for 300 pages and because there are so many missed opportunities in the narrative (e.g., Gogol's trip to India, a section which receives only a few pages of weak exposition). I'd like to say, also, that the number of five-star reviews of The Namesake on this site is bewildering. It's as if Ms. Lahiri's brilliant collection of short stories (and they are just that, brilliant) has somehow awed readers into thinking she can do no wrong. I can only hope that Ms. Lahiri very quickly puts her less than mediocre first novel behind her and goes back to what she writes best, short fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Boring.......
Review: 'The Namesake' - a very interesting name for a book. I was intrigued....by the name, more so, because it was about Indians away from India.

I thought the book started off really well. Then, it got boring....too much of negativity in the characters.....some stuff was predictable...but, on the whole I was BORED! Every night as I put the book down, I would wonder 'what point is she trying to make'. With extreme irritation, I got to the end of the book. I think if you read the last chapter, you get the message and you are done!

I must admit that the last chapter is good....she gets her point across. also, a couple of pages along the way are quite nice....but, on the whole...I really did not know what was the point in writing 200 odd pages....

I would say, even if you get this book for free, please do not read it. You can use your time reading many other books....or maybe even catch up on sleep....


Rating:
Summary: Impressed with Jhumpa Lahiri
Review: I purchased this book at our local bookstore, in order to fulfill my "buy two, get one free" quota. I had not read Jhumpa Lahiri's previous book of short stories and was unsure of what to expect. I was very impressed with this book. The language is simple, and the writing very eloquent. What I enjoyed the most about this novel was that the characters could have been my neighbors. There was nothing especially extraordinary about them, and yet I found myself wanting to keep reading in order to find out what would become of them. "The Namesake" allows us to accompany the Ganguli family for forty years. We follow Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli from India to Boston, where they will build an Indian family of Bengali friends and struggle to hold on to their own cultural traditions. Ashoke and Ashima try to help their children appreciate their heritage, even as their children rebel and try desperately to assimilate with their American peers. Their son, Gogol, struggles the most and eventually becomes the central character in the story. He hates his name, is embarrassed by his parents' accents, and wishes that he could celebrate his birthday without his parents' Bengali friends. He abhors their annual trips to India, and longs for the day that he will be able to move far from home to start his own autonomous life. This novel is rich in emotion, and the story is one that most modern-day, multi-cultural Americans can easily relate to. I applaud Jhumpa Lahiri's efforts. I have definitely become a fan!

Rating:
Summary: a very warming and beautifully written book
Review: Namesake was a very nice story about the Ganguly's - Ashoke, who comes to Boston to pursue higher studies, his wife Ashima who is a sweet, simple and a conventional wife/mom., the children Gogol and Sonali. The book speaks about their son Gogol's life, Born to Indian parents, and very American in belief.
Jhumpa Lahiri's writing is simple, yet very touching. As an Indian you can relate to the Ganguly Family.
The book was very intriguing, but towards the end, especially the last chapter it lost its way! It ended very abrupt. Yet you have a warm feel towards the end.


Rating:
Summary: I generally read mystery and wanted to try something new
Review: Even though this book was beautifully written, the story was painfully boring!! Usually it takes me a few days to finish a book twice as long - and this one took me almost two weeks!
Also recommended: Dan Brown, Nora Roberts, Scott Turow, Nelsen DeMille, Linda Scottoline and the Harry Potter books.