Read what people think about The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, and write your own review.

Rated of 5

The most probable reaction to this book will likely be a focus on relationships. They are reasonably well-defined, and they are a bit more intricate than is often the case. The reader can easily understand the feelings of 3 of the 4 main characters, though Ashoke is a bit obscure.

I was most struck by the mother Ashima as a character, and by the relationship of Ashima and Ashoke as a picture. And, from those, I was driven to consider the state of immigration in the US today. There is such conflicted tension between the old and the new for immigrants. Many come here, and because of the vast freedoms granted Americans, cling fastly to the old cultures. Yet the children, and the breadwinner are thrust daily into American life, essentially becoming people vastly different from their 'origins.' Especially for the young people, the need to fit in was highlighted in this book.

That left Ashima in a very isolated situation. She still had a bit of connection to her husband, who seemed able to inhabit both worlds; however, the children of the story are completely, and almost thoroughly, American for the part of their lives that are 'lived' in the time of the novel.

I think immigration must have been simpler before fast, easy travel and instanteous communication, when people came here to seek better lives AND become Americans, and not just to accrue professional status, or simply a paying job. We consistently read about families of past times that were headed by parents who insisted their children assimilate, learn the language and customs, and were often embarassed by their own inability to speak English.

As someone actively tracing my own roots I can see a downside to each of those circumstances in the long term; but, looking from an empathetic and humanitarian view, this book says to me that creating a complete and fulfilling life requires one to dwell primarily in the present, even geographically and culturally.