Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Pens Beautiful Family Drama
Lahiri writes a moving novel that follows a Bengali family across two generations. She proudly introduces her audience to the Ganguli's: Ashoke, a young professor at MIT, and Ashima, his new bride from Calcutta, India. Her characters are all intricately developed and feel like old friends by the time the reader is finished.
The Baby-Naming Tradition
Every Indian baby is given a good name (to “appear on envelopes, on diplomas, in telephone directories, and in all other public places,”) and a pet name that is not “recorded officially, only uttered and remembered.” The child’s good name typically has a deep meaning, while the pet name is “meaningless, deliberately silly, ironic, even onomatopoetic.”
Ashima and Ashoke have been waiting for a letter from Ashima’s grandmother, who has named all of her great-grandchildren. They have agreed to let her name their son as well. Unfortunately, the letter does not arrive before they need to take the boy home from the hospital. They are told that if they don’t name their son, his birth certificate will read, “Baby Boy Ganguli.”
After much angst, a hospital employee suggests that they name their son after someone who is greatly admired by them. Ashoke recalls the moment seven years before when he barely survived a train derailment, something he hasn’t told his bride about. At the time of the crash, he’d been reading a book by his favorite book, a gift from his grandfather. The tome was a collection of short stories by Nikolai Gogol. It was destroyed in the accident, but he was found grasping a single page from “The Overcoat,” his favorite of the stories. In the hospital, Ashoke decides to call his son Gogol.
Now, this name was meant only to sustain them until the letter arrived with his good name. Since they never get the letter, they continue to call him Gogol until he is ready to start school. At that point, they choose a good name for him: Nikhil. It is derived from the author’s first name, Nikolai, but means, “he who is entire, encompassing all,” in Bengali. The only person not pleased with this is Gogol, who does not want a new name at all.
Growing Up an Immigrant’s Child
Though Gogol and his sister, Sonali (or Sonia, for her pet name), are born and raised in the U.S., they feel the frustration of being different from most of the kids they know. Some mock their names, some vandalize their mailbox with derogatory terms, and some just look at them funny. When his high school class reads “The Overcoat,” Gogol is extremely ashamed of his name.
We follow Gogol through high school and as he readies for college. Just before leaving for Yale, he insists on legally changing his name to Nikhil. It isn’t until he’s almost finished at Yale that his father tells him the story behind his name. Gogol takes on a whole new meaning for him, and he gains a little more respect for his father.
A Life in New York City
Gogol still goes by Nikhil as he begins his career as an architect, but he feels more like Gogol now. He has a couple more serious relationships with non-Indian girls, but his parents never really buy into them. After much arguing, Gogol finally goes on a semi-blind date with a girl he knew as a child.
Moushumi and Gogol enjoy a fun courtship before agreeing to marry in a traditional Indian ceremony. This is the point when some readers may begin to dislike the direction in which the book turns. The marriage is less than ideal. Adultery takes place. Gogol and Moushumi end up divorcing.
Lahiri takes Gogol back to his family in the last chapter of the book. They spend Christmas together. He begins to think of his family’s history as a series of accidents, from his father’s train crash to his doomed marriage. It is not necessarily a happy ending, but one with hope nonetheless.
Book Vs. Movie
This novel is masterfully written. Though it is not, by any means, action-packed, it will keep the reader’s interest easily. Like many books, The Namesake was made into a movie in 2006. Unlike most, the movie does justice to this book. The novel is still better, of course, but the movie will suffice for those who don’t have the time to read a 291 page book.
Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. ISBN 0-618-48522-8
The Namesake
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