I got this book for $6.99 from Rainbow Records on University Ave - which is a cool store btw with quality used books as opposed to the riff-raff generally found at used book stores. I already had a favorable impression of Lahiri's previous and first work "The Interpreter of Maladies" which also won the Pulitzer, but this one is even better. This is the one that really showcases her talent.
JL is a Bengali-American and her works, though universal, are set in the ethos of Bengalis from India who leave home forever in search of a better life in America. "The Namesake" is about two such generations. The first belongs to Ashoke who leaves Calcutta for Boston in the 1960s to fulfill a compelling urge to see the world after a near-death experience in a railway accident. He is very much the Bengali intellectual, steeped in literature classics, quiet, unassuming but with a certain joie de vivre. His upbringing has left a taste for the hallowed pantheon of depressed Russian authors with the most tortured soul of them all, Nicolay Gogol, occupying pride of place. Culturally Ashoke is a conservative and imports via arranged marriage a Bengali girl who has never before stepped outside her hometown. Her character is brilliantly brought out including the slow beginnings of confidence as she adjusts to the alien sights of Boston. Their son is named "Gogol" in memory of Ashoke's favorite author whose book once saved his life in the accident (there are many more twists to this - you have to read the book to find out). Gogol grows up as a somewhat typical second-generation Indian-American, unsure about his roots, trying to bridge the chasm between his parents ideals and the diametrically opposite reality of America. However as he grows he finds himself revolted by his name which is neither Indian nor American - a Russian surname to boot. Perhaps adding another variable to his unsure existence is too much for him. While Gogol's parents follow the trajectory of spiritual loss and material gain - also known as the "American Dream" - he himself goes through some difficult love affairs. The one with Maxine, the daughter of a somewhat aristocratic NYC couple, really brings out his sense of disbelonging between the two worlds. Gogol commits a classic mistake here - while Maxine welcomes him into her own world, he does not do the same for her as he is unsure about his roots. Therefore she is unable to empathise with his loss later in the story. In another relationship JL shows clearly the slow death that overcomes affairs which begin as a convenient solution to loneliness. The "relationship gone stale" theme does seem to be something JL is in love with as I noticed in her previous book. Maybe she has been reading too many Russians herself. Maybe I have.
JL's prose flows like a river and she throws detail at the reader. But the details hit you like water which you can soak up as fast as it comes. There is one point where Gogol's life is forced to intersect his parent's due to a wrenching loss which shows JL's penmanship at its best.
I suppose anyone who has grown up in both India and America will notice a few bits and pieces they share with Ashoke and Gogol. I give this book 8.5/10. I'm planning to reserve 10/10 for something that so blows me away that I become religious or do something even more drastic.
