A review by pjdas1012
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
4.0
“The name he had so detested, here hidden and preserved—that was the first thing his father had given him.”
This author has always been able to describe the Indian-American immigrant experience like no one else can. The first half of this book is the most perfect example of this. It reminded me so much of my own childhood, but also of what my parents must have experienced when they first came to America. It’s the deeper story to the old “immigrant with nothing but $5 in their pocket” line that we’ve all heard a thousand times. It felt like my parents were telling me their stories that they were to afraid to tell and I was to afraid to ask.
Halfway through, the novel takes a turn into a romance between two people with limited redeeming qualities. I could certainly have lived without that part, and it’s the reason why I don’t rate this 5 stars. But I am still glad that I read this and grateful that I could see a reflection of myself in literature.
This author has always been able to describe the Indian-American immigrant experience like no one else can. The first half of this book is the most perfect example of this. It reminded me so much of my own childhood, but also of what my parents must have experienced when they first came to America. It’s the deeper story to the old “immigrant with nothing but $5 in their pocket” line that we’ve all heard a thousand times. It felt like my parents were telling me their stories that they were to afraid to tell and I was to afraid to ask.
Halfway through, the novel takes a turn into a romance between two people with limited redeeming qualities. I could certainly have lived without that part, and it’s the reason why I don’t rate this 5 stars. But I am still glad that I read this and grateful that I could see a reflection of myself in literature.