Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri (Very Interesting)
I read this book about a year ago and I loved it. This was probably because I could relate to the book in so many ways. I have seen so many friends and acquaintances go through what Ashima and Ashoke went through.In “Namesake”, Jhumpa Lahiri portrays the temperaments of the Calcutta-born parents, a pair tied to their Indian roots, customs and rituals. After the birth of their son, circumstances force them to forego custom and offer a name for the birth certificate. Flummoxed, Ashoke offers the “second” name, Gogol, never meant for use as the child’s public, or formal, name. Ashoke impulsively makes this choice based on the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol. As for their son, Gogol, he detests his name, although he is helpless to change it until he is an adult. The unfortunate Gogol is tethered to this dual Indian-American life, never quite fitting anywhere (“ABCD” as he is called – American Born Confused Desis).
This book is surely worth a buy. It is a lovely book and any multi-cultural citizen of America would especially appreciate it. Bollywood is coming out with a movie based on this novel.
# posted by Zette Remi @ 2:14 AM 
