The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri

Just finished reading the 'Namesake' - a cross-cultural, multi-generational story of a Hindu Bengali family, the Gangulis, who uprooted their tradition-bound life in Calcutta to fit into life in America. It is 1967. On the heels of their arranged wedding, Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli settle together in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An engineer by training, Ashoke adapts far less problematically than his wife, who resists all things American.

We follow the family as their son Gogol born in America grows from child to teenager, and becomes increasingly alienated from his parents’ immigrant way of doing things. He’s the typical first-generation American son. He never speaks to them in Bengali, and he’s embarrassed by their idiosyncrasies. He is also increasingly embarrassed by his strange name.

Besides this question of heritage, another one of the themes that’s very effectively dealt with is death. Ashoke’s near-death experience as a young man continues to color his understanding of the world in the decades that follow. It gives him a deep appreciation for life and for his family, including his two terribly American children.

So when Ashoke dies unexpectedly while on a business trip years later, it feels for Ashima, Gogol and his sister that it is far too soon. The author masterfully explores the themes of the complexities of the immigrant experience and foreignness, the clash of lifestyles, cultural disorientation, the conflicts of assimilation, the tangled ties between generations... and paints a portrait of an Indian family torn between the pull of respecting family traditions, and the American way of life. It’s a tale of love, solitude and emotional upheavals with an amazing eye for detail and ironic observation.

The 'Namesake' treats the story of the Ganguli family with respect and honesty, so that we all see ourselves in their experiences, no matter how particular — it still feels universal. I especially like this book because it is rather nostalgic for me as I can relate to the feelings of being alone and fitting into a new culture when I spent 6 years in NZ alone as a student and 1 year in England with my wife and three children.