द नेमसेक / THE NAMESAKE

Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli move from Calcutta to Cambridge, Massachusetts, after an arranged marriage. When their son is born, Ashoke names him Gogol, after the Russian writer whose book once saved his life in a train crash, intending it as a temporary pet name. Gogol grows up hating the name and the Bengali traditions at home, changes it to Nikhil, and has relationships with Maxine and then Moushumi. Jhumpa Lahiri follows the family across thirty years, through births, deaths and moves, in a story of immigrant life.

For those who enjoy quiet family novels about identity and belonging between two cultures. Lahiri's clean prose gives small moments great weight.

Inward-looking and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

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