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gabberjaws's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What I loved most about this book was that Lahiri's writing is simple, but somehow rich and poetic at the same time. She has a knack for setting events up gently, and making the follow through feel so impactful and emotional, even though her narration is very simple and straightforward.
I felt privileged to follow along with the Gangulis; to see how they learned and grew and created traditions all their own, to see how the learned to love, accept, respect and understand one another despite their very different individual journeys. The story wavered a little towards the very end, with Moushumi's affair skewing the pacing a tad but overall, this was a great read.
The title of this book is a little misleading. This isn't a book about embodying your namesake, or about the power of names. Instead it's a beautiful, emotional documentation of one family's journey in learning what home means to them, and in finding themselves. It's a book about one's relationship with family and culture, the struggles of being known, and of knowing yourself. I'm so glad I read this.
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Death (chapter 1), Transphobia (a single instance of a certain outdated term for transgender people, now considered a slur, Chapter 5), Death of a parent (chapter 7), Deadnaming (chapter 9), Infidelity (chapter 10), Adult/Minor relationship (chapter 10)
I felt privileged to follow along with the Gangulis; to see how they learned and grew and created traditions all their own, to see how the learned to love, accept, respect and understand one another despite their very different individual journeys. The story wavered a little towards the very end, with
The title of this book is a little misleading. This isn't a book about embodying your namesake, or about the power of names. Instead it's a beautiful, emotional documentation of one family's journey in learning what home means to them, and in finding themselves. It's a book about one's relationship with family and culture, the struggles of being known, and of knowing yourself. I'm so glad I read this.
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Deadnaming, Racism, and Transphobia
caseythereader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Given that I'm extremely late to THE NAMESAKE party, you probably don't need a real review from me. I'll just say that this is such a beautiful, tender, sprawling book that carries you along its currents. Following the Ganguli family through their joys and heartbreaks was such a wonderful experience, and - as with every time I've joined @idleutopia_reads' #DiversifyYourBacklist buddy read group - I've been so grateful to Karen for getting me to pick up such a lovely book. I would have gladly read hundreds more pages of this story, and I'm looking forward to reading Lahiri's other works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Deadnaming
debookgeek's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Transphobia
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I have to start by saying that this is not the sort of book I normally enjoy, so just having finished it ranks it my most favorite literary fiction of all time. Instead of the 'lovely' *cough* overly descriptive *cough* writing that usually marks literary fiction, this writing is simple and compelling.
It also helps that the characters give me a window into a different life and different set of circumstances than I've experienced, which I always enjoy. Even better, I found their 'different' circumstances strangely relatable in some ways. I don't come from an immigrant family, but I do know what it's like to have a family culture that's vastly different from everyone else around.
So, five star writing, with some five star moments, and overall a four star experience because I still struggle a bit with the very slow, literary style.
Except... Well, staying spoiler free, let's just say that on occasion some very poor decisions are made in the course of the story, and some of them disturbed me enough to really drag down the experience, hence the 3.5 star rating instead of four.
I'm glad I read this story, and parts of it will probably stay with me for a very long time, but I don't see myself being likely to revisit it.
It also helps that the characters give me a window into a different life and different set of circumstances than I've experienced, which I always enjoy. Even better, I found their 'different' circumstances strangely relatable in some ways. I don't come from an immigrant family, but I do know what it's like to have a family culture that's vastly different from everyone else around.
So, five star writing, with some five star moments, and overall a four star experience because I still struggle a bit with the very slow, literary style.
Except... Well, staying spoiler free, let's just say that on occasion some very poor decisions are made in the course of the story, and some of them disturbed me enough to really drag down the experience, hence the 3.5 star rating instead of four.
I'm glad I read this story, and parts of it will probably stay with me for a very long time, but I don't see myself being likely to revisit it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Grief
claudia_bow's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
blackismajestic's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death