3.5
The Namesake
ByPublisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri brilliantly illuminates the immigrant experience and the tangled ties between generations. Namesake is a fine-tuned, intimate, and deeply felt novel of identity from “a writer of uncommon elegance and poise.” (The New York Times)
Meet the Ganguli family, new arrivals from Calcutta, trying their best to become Americans even as they pine for home. The name they bestow on their firstborn, Gogol, betrays all the conflicts of honoring tradition in a new world — conflicts that will haunt Gogol on his own winding path through divided loyalties, comic detours, and wrenching love affairs.
"Dazzling...An intimate, closely observed family portrait."—The New York Times
"Hugely appealing."—People Magazine
"An exquisitely detailed family saga."—Entertainment Weekly
Meet the Ganguli family, new arrivals from Calcutta, trying their best to become Americans even as they pine for home. The name they bestow on their firstborn, Gogol, betrays all the conflicts of honoring tradition in a new world — conflicts that will haunt Gogol on his own winding path through divided loyalties, comic detours, and wrenching love affairs.
"Dazzling...An intimate, closely observed family portrait."—The New York Times
"Hugely appealing."—People Magazine
"An exquisitely detailed family saga."—Entertainment Weekly
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities5501 Reviews
3.5
sargun
Created about 12 hours agoShare
Report
E
Created 3 days agoShare
Report
Abhishek Dash
Created 6 days agoShare
Report
“The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is a book that had been on my radar for a long time, and now that I’ve finally read it, I have a mix of emotions. This novel follows Gogol Ganguli, the son of Bengali immigrants in the U.S., as he struggles with his identity, his name, and the cultural gap between his roots and his upbringing. It’s a story about family, belonging, and the silent sacrifices made across generations.
Lahiri’s writing is undeniably beautiful—subtle, poignant, and deeply introspective. She has this way of capturing human emotions in the most delicate, quiet moments, making even simple interactions feel significant. Some parts of the novel hit me hard, especially the ones dealing with loss and family relationships. There’s a certain rawness in the way Lahiri portrays grief and longing, and those moments felt painfully real.
However, I did have some issues with the pacing. At times, the story flowed beautifully, while at other points, it dragged a little. Some sections felt over-explored, whereas others especially the ending felt rushed. I also expected the book to dive deeper into themes of racism and cultural alienation, but it focused more on Gogol’s personal life and relationships rather than external struggles. Not that this is a bad thing, it’s just different from what I initially thought the book would be.
Despite these minor letdowns, I still think The Namesake is a book worth reading. It’s not a fast-paced novel or one with big, dramatic moments. Instead, it’s a quiet, reflective story that makes you think about the little things about family, identity, and the way our past shapes us, even when we try to escape it.
Would I recommend it? Yes, especially to readers who enjoy literary fiction and slow-burn, character-driven stories. If you love books that focus on emotional depth rather than fast-moving plots, this one is for you.
Age Rating: 14+”About Jhumpa Lahiri
JHUMPA LAHIRI is the author of four works of fiction: Interpreter of Maladies, The Namesake, Unaccustomed Earth, and The Lowland; and a work of nonfiction, In Other Words. She has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize; the PEN/Hemingway Award; the PEN/Malamud Award; the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award; the Premio Gregor von Rezzori; the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature; a 2014 National Humanities Medal, awarded by President Barack Obama; and the Premio Internazionale Viareggio-Versilia, for In altre parole.
Other books by Jhumpa Lahiri
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Similar Books
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List