This book is part of the 2021 Berkeley Summer Reading List. But growing up in an Indian family in suburban America, the boy starts to hate his name and itches to cast it off, along with the inherited values it represents. With simple yet elegant prose rendered in page-turning fashion, Lahiri illustrates how Gogol sees and re-sees the world upon gaining clarity about his past. The Namesake is a novel by the distinguished American writer Jhumpa Lahiri, who is known for her traditional narrative style often dealing with sensitive issues of immigrant life and culture clash. As Gogol uncovers the history behind his name, we watch him tangle with family tradition, tumble through telling love affairs, and develop a fond interest in architecture - fitting as he tries to assemble his own persona.
In this story, Gogol Ganguli, a child of Indian immigrants much like Lahiri herself, struggles to adopt an identity that satisfies both the expectations of his Bengali relatives in Calcutta and his peers in the United States.
Such factors that contribute to problems with identity are not only recognizable in Indian cultures, but can become hindrances for many immigrants who enter the United States each year.Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri’s first novel, The Namesake, speaks to how one’s character, seemingly burdened by the past, can be redefined across time, space, and culture. This them is illustrated vividly by examining the importance of one’s culture and background, gender, and name as the definition of patriarchal lineage and destiny in life. The Namesake is a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri that was first published in 2003. Hence, the major theme portrayed in the novel is one of identity. Gogol engages in a constant struggle to remain loyal to both worlds. Jhumpa Lahiris deeply knowing, avidly descriptive, and luxuriously paced first novel is. The latter dictated that adhering to the model of the Standard North American family establishes normalcy. Book Reviews This is a fine novel from a superb writer. Gogol, their only son, and the carrier of their family name, struggles incessantly to find his identity while attempting to mold to his family’s expectations and the expectations of American society. The novel follows the lives of Ashima and Asoke Ganguli, and how they left behind a life in India that they had grown to know and love to live the American dream and provide the best life for themselves and their children. The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, is a story of culture, race, and inheritance and how these factors mold our attitudes and direct our lives in an ever-changing society.
0 kommentar(er)
