Book Review of the Namesake

Book Review Abbey Parise

The Namesake

Jhumpa Lahiri

“We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright. Some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box.”(Anonymous) The Namesake is about a Calcutta family trying to do the best they can at becoming true Americans while keeping their heritage and customs. In her book, she described to the reader what it must have felt like to come from a different country to America during the 1960’s and such, that is when the setting is first sited. When the reader opens the pages they are following a life in perspective of Nikhil Gogol, the main character, through the good times and the bad, while he searches far and wide to “find himself”. In her book, she makes the reader feel as though one can relate to either side of the fence, whether it be feeling like a foreigner or feeling like the second generation. It is jammed pack with detail leaving the reader wanting to know more each minute.

Lahiri’s choice of words catches the reader attention from the start. She has such an attention to detail. Lahiri knows how to make the reader feel sensitive to the situations gong on around the characters of this book. To bring in more insight, she uses flashbacks making the reader feel even more involved with the characters, and giving an even better understanding to them. Lahiri’s writing technique is most definitely one of its own kind. Lahiri’s chapter (though very long at times) words things in a way that lets the reader see all the different emotions of the characters. The way she writes about the wedding is also very unique. The way she talks to the reader, rather than telling the reader about the different aspects of the wedding and the excitement that is well known wedding days, and just passes forward to the night of the wedding instead. As the reader, I felt as though the wedding was up to my imagination and creativity, almost like I got to decide what happened. She has a perfect sense as to where it would be okay, for the reader, to leave out information.

When Lahiri wrote this book she really hit the nail on the head. When the reader is progressing through the book, one can be flawed by how real life the characters and their situations feel. The reader may, as I did, realize that those are some of the most personal and life changing events, the kind that one cannot describe, but can feel the significance of the situation. In my opinion a lot of the time as people, we take