Comments (37)

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Mar 13, 2024anika_kumar rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
"The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri is a poignant coming-of-age novel that resonates with teenagers navigating their own identities and cultural roots. Following the life of Gogol Ganguli, the novel explores themes of identity, belonging, and…
Jan 17, 2024Walter724 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This is a very well written and wonderful book. I enjoyed it a lot. There’s lots of interesting information on Indian culture as well. It’s a gem!
Nov 21, 2023akdaftary rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri intricately weaves a narrative that explores the complexities of identity, culture, and belonging. Centered around Gogol Ganguli, a young man born to Indian immigrant parents in the United States, the novel…
Aug 03, 2023chasingdreams rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
There are scenes from this book. That I can't get out of my head. The movie reinforces the book. A must read; especially if you live in a city where there are a lot of immigrants. It helps to understand their perspective.
Jul 03, 2023Anita_Dickey rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I read this book for the 52 books in 52 weeks summer reading challenge. I used the 2023 prompt read a book that involves the entire family. It is also on Listopia's list of 300 books everyone should read once list. I enjoyed it. I think i…
Sep 29, 2022GPL_Adult rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Based on a story from the author's Pulitzer prize-winning Interpreter of Maladies, this book is an effortless read about a boy named Gogol and his family's new life in America after emigrating from India. We loved the main character and…
Feb 11, 2022pacl_teens rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
"“That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet” (Lahiri, 2003). This is precisely how I felt while reading this book; however, it was a bit dull at some times. The Namesake is about a young boy named Gogol,…
Jun 02, 2021rlbeekman rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The author tells this story of two generations of a Bengali immigrant family in Cambridge, MA, with a plain and pellucid rendering of closely observed physical and social reality. Nothing is hidden, nothing is missed, nothing is…
May 11, 2021mmyjer20 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The author is a good writer. The book reads easily. It was a book full of emotion about family. I think the author got the emotions accurate as it pertains to leaving home to another place and it is not ever really the same. Also how the…
Apr 26, 2021
Wow. I read this book for school, but man, I fell in love with it just as easily as I have with books I read on my own time. I love a good family drama, and The Namesake checks all of those boxes. Something I think is really worth noting…
Apr 17, 2021
A lovely novel by the wonderful author Jhumpa Lahiri. The Namesake follows the story of a Bengali family who is transplanted to the Northeast. Instead of warmth, spices and lots of family, the Gangulis are thrust into the cold, bitter…
Apr 01, 2021r__shei rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I liked how this book had a realistic representation of what some South Asian families in the USA with immigrant parents are like. The book shows the children, first generation Indian-Americans, drifting away from their parents’/family…
May 26, 2019Groszerita rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a story of the immigrant experience and also a story about a father and son relationship.
Sep 15, 2018lukasevansherman rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Anglo-Indian writer Jhumpa Lahiri's first book of short stories, "Interpreter of Maladies," won the Pulitzer. "The Namesake" is her first novel and has similar themes, namely the immigrant experience in America. Made into a film. Also,…
Jan 15, 2018
I love this novel.
Dec 17, 2016
I downloaded the ebook to read on my nook, and it will not let me open it without entering my full name and credit card despite the fact that the book is a rental from the library. The file opens fine on my computer. Anyone know how to…
Dec 02, 2016
Truly engaging, well written, high praise for Jhumpa Lahiri... again. She has a gift for chronicling families struggling with the delicate balance of being loyal to traditions of India while coming of age in America.
Apr 27, 2016tjdickey rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Richly detailed, but effortless. The film adaptation is excellent, but the book is the story in HD. Look for the train returning in different motifs, or the shoes that Ashima tries on her feet...
Dec 31, 2015pokano rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I adored this book, the story of Indian immigrants and their children, as they try to adjust to American life while attempting--at least in the parents' generation--to preserve their own heritage. The parents are the product of an arranged…
Jun 14, 2015
a god reqr
Jan 08, 2015carolynlindstrom rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable, Indian couple in US, contrast with home and family in India, child grows up in NY.
Jan 05, 2015WVMLStaffPicks rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Ashima, in an arranged marriage to Ashoke Ganguli, misses her native India as she sets up house in Massachusetts. Her son Gogol is "the namesake" of the title and the centre of this richly detailed account of the immigrant experience. You…
mariamaslam724
Jul 27, 2014
this book is really a page turner. Sure its boring form the beginning but the writer proves herself at the end. Although, it is very inappropriate at some parts its a good book.
Feb 20, 2013d2013 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Excellent read and the movie was good too!
Aug 29, 2012
a wonderful story about family and moving to Canada from a culture so different ...uses the Russian poet Gogol as they name there son born in Canada after him...how hard it is to be the parents of children born here and grow up being so…