afox98's review
2.0
Read 25% of the book and gave up. I don’t love the characters and nothing is really happening.
cokechukwu's review
2.0
Very few books need to be 400 pages long. This is definitely not one of them. It needed to shed about 100 pages and 50% of the characters, storylines, and exposition. (The main characters don't even meet until nearly 140 pages in!) It's too bad, because No One Can Pronounce My Name has many elements of a book I would love: lots of heart, clever writing, and a diverse cast of characters. Instead, I couldn't wait to finish this so I could move on to something that didn't make me dread reading.
kayleebob's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
kittykornerlibrarian's review
4.0
About a third of the way through I was not sure that I was enjoying this book, but I am really glad I finished it. This novel is very ambitious; it tells a lot of different stories from a lot of different people. The narrator is third person omniscient throughout, but the point of view changes slightly depending on which character is in the spotlight during that particular chapter. The story starts with Harit, a middle-aged Indian man who immigrated from India to Cleveland, Ohio, with his mother and his sister as a young man. He feels uncomfortable with his own identity and also who he is in the world. Then the story shifts to Ranjana, an assimilated Indian woman whose only son has just left for college and who feels unconnected to her husband and her marriage. She has dreams and aspirations bigger than what she sees around her, and no idea how to pursue change for herself. Then we are introduced to Ranjana's son Prashant, in his first year at Princeton and wondering who he is in this new environment and how it will help him become his own person. The story basically alternates between these three characters, but later we get the point of view of both Ranjana's husband and Harit's mother and also Teddy, a gay man who works with Harit and forges connections between all the novel's characters. So there are a lot of stories here, and they are thoughtfully told, bringing the reader into the world of immigrants, gay people, people of color, and people who are trying to find meaning and connection. This was a thoughtful read; possibly a little convoluted. But these are stories that are crying out to be told.
literatehedgehog's review
4.0
Character-driven, alternating viewpoints story of love, identity, code-switching, and best of all, friendship.
myrimirmir's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
5.0
Love this. Touches my heart so closely it crushes into a new shape of transformation of both mind and life - MU
findyourgoldenhour's review
3.0
I started out loving this book, but somewhere along the way it seemed to lose direction. The characters were endearing and I cared what happened to them, but after setting up several potential plot lines, it just seemed to meander. By the end I was eager to finish so I could start something else; never a good sign.
alykat_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Overall I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting view on how the American and Indian cultures collide with each other. The characters experienced growth and acceptance of who they were and I loved that.
My only issue is that there were no separations between when character view points would change (maybe in the physical book it’s more obvious, but with the audiobook there was no explicit change and no chapters) so I would find myself confused for a bit at some points. Other than that, it was a lovely story.
My only issue is that there were no separations between when character view points would change (maybe in the physical book it’s more obvious, but with the audiobook there was no explicit change and no chapters) so I would find myself confused for a bit at some points. Other than that, it was a lovely story.