The Namesake

Book Name: The Namesake

Author: Jhumpa Lahiri

Genre: Fiction

"She has given birth to vagabonds. She is the keeper of all these names and numbers now, the numbers she once knew by heart, numbers and addresses her children no longer remember."

"The Namesake", by Jhumpa Lahiri, a story that examines the theme of private identity and thus the conflicts produced by immigration by following the interior dynamics of a Bengali family in the U.S.

"The Namesake" focuses on the life of the protagonist Gogol later named Nikhil. Gogol's parents are Bengali immigrants who settled in America and his father gave him the name Gogol in a hurry after his favourite Russian author Nikolai Gogol as a pet name which later turned out to be his real name. As Gogol grows up, he started hating his name Gogol, which was neither Indian name nor American name. He changed his name when he turns out to be 18 years as Nikhil Ganguli. Gogol always wanted to stay away from their parents due to their affinity towards their motherland and Bangoli's, but soon after the sudden death of his father, he started realising the importance of family and started loving his family more than ever. He also comes to understand the behaviour of their parents whenever they meet with his Uncles and Aunts in Calcutta and their affinity with Bengoli's residing in America.

"Even those family members who continue to live seem dead somehow, always invisible, impossible to touch"

Although the book did not have a strong ending, which I expected, I still liked the book.

Do read this book and don't forget to share your views in the comment section.