swingbeat: 9/26: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

This is the tale of a young Indian-American man, Gogol Ganguli, starting from his father's generation. The author poignantly speaks of life for the two generations of Indian-Americans, his parents who moved here as adults, and those who were born here. Gogul was named after a Russian author named Nikolai Gogol, one of whose books saved his father's life.

Jhumpa Lahin writes well. She tells a compelling tale of adaptation for Gogul and his parents. She describes realistic situations that I, as a first generation Asian-American, can understand and empathize with. One major theme throughout the book is the love/hate relationship he has with his name, something I can also empathize with. The story takes place on the East Coast, primarily Boston and New York, and so there was a ring of familiarity with many of the locations with me.

I liked most of this book, but I just didn't like how the story ended, starting from the last few chapters. So I recommend this with reservations. I'd go into the ending, but that would just bring up spoilers :). But I know others who liked this book.