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06th September ‘12
It is hardly minutes since I closed the book for the last time and I am forced to write this down. Seldom has a book given me an empty feeling, a sort of a vacuum, a feeling of strange bereavement, as if I have lost a friend, when I finish reading it. This book left a deep impact within me, making me feel bad that it is over. I was at once feeling happy and sad for having picked this up. This is one of those books that absorb you within and make you feel a part of the story every now and then.
‘The Namesake’ is Jhumpa Lahiri’s first novel and my second tryst with the writing skills of this author. I have never been keen on reading novels, especially those that scare me with the size and soap opera sentiments printed inside them. But, ‘The Namesake’ has been an exception and quite a revelation at that.
As for the story, Ashoke and Ashima are a simple Bengali couple from Calcutta, of the late 1960s, who settle down in the USA, trying to acclimatize and create a world for themselves in the new country and the new continent, all the while struggling to cling on to their roots and keeping their bonds alive across the world, in India. They give birth to a son, who is named ‘Gogol’ under unenviable circumstances, named after his father Ashoke’s favorite author and a writer with whom Ashoke shares an esoteric bond. However, as Gogol grows up he starts hating his name for the combined uniqueness and the rareness of the same. He is not quite comfortable playing the role of an NRI either, since he shares no perceptible emotional bond with the homeland, India, unlike his parents, who have been brought up in the humble, simple, rich traditional surroundings of this country.
Gogol - or Nikhil, as he comes to call himself - grows up as one of those innumerable children of the NRI parents, who don’t feel the need to abide by the traditions and upbringing of their parents’ native country. He is born American and he immerses himself all qualities American – be it good or bad. He grows up as a pot-smoking, drinking teenager with some intimate affairs and saucy relationships in his kitty. He also tries to distance himself from his parents and all the retrograde traditions and mindset of them, as he sees it. But, some unpleasant incidents, one after the other, follow and he slowly learns that a man’s identity is not just in his name and his roots and relationship are what matter the most.
The book begins at the birth of Gogol and makes us leave him at one of the most crucial times of his life. All along the book, Jhumpa succeeds in making you feel as if you are sitting alongside the characters, watching them eat, listening to their conversations, ogling at their sensuality, grieving at their pains and smiling at their happiness. Page after page of emotional journey is mapped out and you feel as if you are a part of Gogol’s life as he moves on from stroller to high-school to higher academics to the life of an adult.
There is a tinge of irony in this book though - I happen to be the ‘Namesake’ of the father’s character and share his interest for reading – especially the Russian authors - while his son reminds me a lot about myself in my past. Be it the love relationship, be it the way he feels about his parents, be it the way he feels suspended between two different cultures, be it the emotional pangs and distress he is subjected too, Gogol reminds me of a person that I was and I am. I couldn’t resist a drop of tear welling up when one of the lead characters ‘departs’. It is only a character in the book that can be brought alive by turning back the pages, but being the kind of author that she is, Jhumpa manages to make you feel as if it is one of your own kin and kith that you have lost!
Jhumpa Lahiri succeeds in making you feel a part of the scenes with her excellent and exceptional portrayal skills. The amount of details that she packs into each page is amazing. But the same can prove to be a little tedious at times too. The elaborate description about the food items, furniture, architecture, travels, restaurants, garments and so on, is sometimes too tiring. Especially, when she explains the preparation of dishes, it sounds as if you are reading a cookbook. This could appeal to people with a desire for culinary skills, but for someone like me, whose culinary skills are unenviable and limited to using a kettle and refrigerator to change the temperature of the water, I find them too tiring.
There are authors with an eye for details. Jhumpa Lahiri is an author with eyes and eyelids, nose and nostrils, ear and earlobes, mouth and teeth for details.
But ignoring the lengthy description of products, prices, cuisines, places, eateries, attires and furniture, this is an amazing book of life and emotions. If you are a person that loves reading books which kindle your emotions and make you delve deep into yourself while sharing the journey of those characters in the plot, this book is for you.
Pick this up! This is one book which you do not want to miss in your life!
It is hardly minutes since I closed the book for the last time and I am forced to write this down. Seldom has a book given me an empty feeling, a sort of a vacuum, a feeling of strange bereavement, as if I have lost a friend, when I finish reading it. This book left a deep impact within me, making me feel bad that it is over. I was at once feeling happy and sad for having picked this up. This is one of those books that absorb you within and make you feel a part of the story every now and then.
‘The Namesake’ is Jhumpa Lahiri’s first novel and my second tryst with the writing skills of this author. I have never been keen on reading novels, especially those that scare me with the size and soap opera sentiments printed inside them. But, ‘The Namesake’ has been an exception and quite a revelation at that.
As for the story, Ashoke and Ashima are a simple Bengali couple from Calcutta, of the late 1960s, who settle down in the USA, trying to acclimatize and create a world for themselves in the new country and the new continent, all the while struggling to cling on to their roots and keeping their bonds alive across the world, in India. They give birth to a son, who is named ‘Gogol’ under unenviable circumstances, named after his father Ashoke’s favorite author and a writer with whom Ashoke shares an esoteric bond. However, as Gogol grows up he starts hating his name for the combined uniqueness and the rareness of the same. He is not quite comfortable playing the role of an NRI either, since he shares no perceptible emotional bond with the homeland, India, unlike his parents, who have been brought up in the humble, simple, rich traditional surroundings of this country.
Gogol - or Nikhil, as he comes to call himself - grows up as one of those innumerable children of the NRI parents, who don’t feel the need to abide by the traditions and upbringing of their parents’ native country. He is born American and he immerses himself all qualities American – be it good or bad. He grows up as a pot-smoking, drinking teenager with some intimate affairs and saucy relationships in his kitty. He also tries to distance himself from his parents and all the retrograde traditions and mindset of them, as he sees it. But, some unpleasant incidents, one after the other, follow and he slowly learns that a man’s identity is not just in his name and his roots and relationship are what matter the most.
The book begins at the birth of Gogol and makes us leave him at one of the most crucial times of his life. All along the book, Jhumpa succeeds in making you feel as if you are sitting alongside the characters, watching them eat, listening to their conversations, ogling at their sensuality, grieving at their pains and smiling at their happiness. Page after page of emotional journey is mapped out and you feel as if you are a part of Gogol’s life as he moves on from stroller to high-school to higher academics to the life of an adult.
There is a tinge of irony in this book though - I happen to be the ‘Namesake’ of the father’s character and share his interest for reading – especially the Russian authors - while his son reminds me a lot about myself in my past. Be it the love relationship, be it the way he feels about his parents, be it the way he feels suspended between two different cultures, be it the emotional pangs and distress he is subjected too, Gogol reminds me of a person that I was and I am. I couldn’t resist a drop of tear welling up when one of the lead characters ‘departs’. It is only a character in the book that can be brought alive by turning back the pages, but being the kind of author that she is, Jhumpa manages to make you feel as if it is one of your own kin and kith that you have lost!
Jhumpa Lahiri succeeds in making you feel a part of the scenes with her excellent and exceptional portrayal skills. The amount of details that she packs into each page is amazing. But the same can prove to be a little tedious at times too. The elaborate description about the food items, furniture, architecture, travels, restaurants, garments and so on, is sometimes too tiring. Especially, when she explains the preparation of dishes, it sounds as if you are reading a cookbook. This could appeal to people with a desire for culinary skills, but for someone like me, whose culinary skills are unenviable and limited to using a kettle and refrigerator to change the temperature of the water, I find them too tiring.
There are authors with an eye for details. Jhumpa Lahiri is an author with eyes and eyelids, nose and nostrils, ear and earlobes, mouth and teeth for details.
But ignoring the lengthy description of products, prices, cuisines, places, eateries, attires and furniture, this is an amazing book of life and emotions. If you are a person that loves reading books which kindle your emotions and make you delve deep into yourself while sharing the journey of those characters in the plot, this book is for you.
Pick this up! This is one book which you do not want to miss in your life!
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