The Namesake

After reading [[http://floatingsun.net/blog/2006/04/05/628/|Interpreter of Maladies]], I picked up a copy of Ms. Lahiri’s other book, “The Namesake”. The writing style is immediately familiar — fluent prose that makes you immediately comfortable. The story feels very realistic, sometimes not like fiction at all. Sometimes too real. As with IoM, the book doesn’t leave behind a sharp impression. It just hangs there, waiting for you to make up your mind.

The book tells us the story of Gogol Ganguli, a second generation desi born and brought up in the US. He reminds us of the stereotypical [[wp>American_Born_Confused_Desi|ABCD]]. The book is also about the lives of Indians in the US, and in particular, the Bengalis. Its an interesting portrayal and my Bengali friends can better judge its authenticity.

Much as I enjoyed reading the book, I didn’t quite relate to Gogol. I’m not talking about the ABCD aspect of his life — since I haven’t been born and brought up here, this is hardly surprising. I’m talking about his more general attitude towards life and his family (parents, in particular).

I was going to write a whole bunch of other stuff, but then I realized none of it is actually relevant to the book and then I kind of lost that thread of thought, so I guess I’ll just stop. The book is not earth shatterning or life changing, but reading you fills you with warmth and sadness and hope and despair. It reminds me of how //human// we all are, how in this complex web of life people come and go through over lives, and how, in the end, so little of anything matters…