The Namesake

by SUPRIYA MANANDHAR

FROM ISSUE # 139 (July 2007) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Jhumpa Lahiri's second book, The Namesake, revolves around an individual's search for identity of when caught between two conflicting cultures. Set against the backdrop of the Bengali diaspora in the United States is a cast of characters who chose to make a new life for themselves and their children by moving to America. The novel depicts the tension between the first and second-generation immigrants, as well as the clash between family ties and individual freedom. 

The Namesake is set over 32 years, and chronicles the lives of Ashok, Ashima, and their two children. Ashok and Ashima are tied to their Indian roots, customs, and rituals. Their transition into their lives in America by bringing such homegrown values with them. In America they have their children, Gogol and Sonia. Caught between Indian and American lifestyles, the two children, in particular Gogol, prefers to become more American than Indian.

The story mostly follows Gogol, a namesake of the Russian author Nikolai Gogal. Being an American with Indian roots makes it difficult for Gogol to integrate smoothly into the American way of life. At home he is uncomfortable dealing with the strong values held by his parents, while at school, his American friends do not see him as a completely American. Gogol's life typifies the "neither-here-nor-there" feeling that most immigrants' children have. 

Lahiri's language is simple but subtle. Sometimes, the sentence patterns can be a tad repetitive, yet Lahiri conveys a lot of emotion with spare, objective words. We are given a bird's eye-view of things, moving from character to character, but the pace can be slow. In a few places, the passage upon passage of documentary-like prose can have an anaesthetic rather than evocative feeling.

The characters are all sympathetic—we see their strengths, their little foibles, and their moments of great fallibility, which makes them endearingly human. However, and this is a big however, this is a tried and tested genre covering familiar themes. The lack of any particular intensity will probably put off the less patient reader. Another problem is the general aura of fuzziness around the book. If someone were to ask me what the main point of it is, I doubt I'd know the answer. But immigration is one of the hot topics of the day, and this book, though set pre-9/11, is a worthwhile enough read. Just don't buy al the blurbs you see on the cover. Going by those, The Namesake is over-rated!