Jul 15, 2010 11:37 AM
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Book Review: The Namesake
This book by Jhumpa Lahiri is an elaborate, convoluted look at the travails of possessing a traditional name and the consequences thereof in a modern society. The writer looks down upon Indian, specifically Bengali, traditions in the most condescending way and waxes eloquent about the wonderful American life! Hmmph! What’s so wonderful anyone may ask?
The writer probably wanted to bring out the importance of identity in a global world, but this seems hardly like a plot or issue of any substance. The only thing bothering this young man, Gogol Ganguli, an ABCD, is his traditional, Russian name and the fact that his parents didn’t think of a name modern enough! Seriously, I think people studying at MIT and Harvard have more dire issues and conflicts in their lives! Or do they?
But life is pretty smooth for Ashima, his mother and Ashok, his father, who had the unfortunate experience of being in the midst of a train crash! He comes out of it alive, but the memory never leaves him. Is this for real, you may ask? Do bad memories really haunt people for the rest of their lives, or is Mr Ashok Ganguli one hell of a weakling? And if he is one, then what is he doing at MIT and Harvard?
Hmmm! So far so good, but you do tire of the endless minute descriptions of the ordinary, physical aspects of a family in transition. Do people really care about wonderful pillars, expanding corridors and exquisite furniture? The author knows a lot about things, objects and the physical world, and describes them in an appropriate way, bordering on ostentation. There’s nothing else in the book, no plot, weak characters and conflicts that would turn only a fly or spider topsy turvy!
The only saving grace is the language, which describes the events in a lucid, authoritative style. But it’s the first novel I read that is entirely in present tense! Good going, Ms Lahiri, but you could’ve done a lot better with the plot, characters and the story. And you could have stayed true to your Indian roots instead of being such a post colonial joker, fascinated with every thing American! Even teenagers aren’t!
