The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri

 

I picked this book up on a whim in Foyles and it has wound up being one of my favourite books - it’s always the way! The novel follows protagonist Gogol Ganguli, who was named after his father’s favourite Russian author.

Gogol and his family live in America, having moved from Calcutta and leaving their large Indian family behind to set up life in a new country where they know no one. Gogol’s parents Ashoke and Ashima try their best to raise their two children in line with their heritage but they cannot help their adopting American mannerisms and dismissing their traditional food and clothes.

As Gogol grows up, he becomes ashamed of his unusual name and doesn’t know the real reason for his father’s choice - a near-death experience from which the author Nikolai Gogol truly saved Ashoke. As a young adult, Gogol decides to change his name and reinvent himself, shedding his former skin. His father is unable to stop this and keeps quiet, allowing Gogol to forge his own path.

This novel, although less than 300 pages in length, is an expansive and far-reaching tale which follows a family through all their trials and tribulations. Lahiri’s characterisation is beautiful throughout, and each character has real human flaws which I really appreciated. This is such an emotional story of family, loss and self-acceptance and spans across multiple decades. I can’t lie and pretend I wasn’t pretty upset by how this ended, but that doesn’t stop me placing this among my favourite novels. Following Gogol’s personal growth, loves and losses was a pure joy and I would love to gift this novel to someone as it has really struck a chord.