Blogs I read
Review: The Namesake
user warning: Unknown column 'u.signature_format' in 'field list'
query: SELECT c.cid as cid, c.pid, c.nid, c.subject, c.comment, c.format, c.timestamp, c.name, c.mail, c.homepage, u.uid, u.name AS registered_name, u.signature, u.signature_format, u.picture, u.data, c.thread, c.status FROM drup_comments c INNER JOIN drup_users u ON c.uid = u.uid WHERE c.nid = 18 AND c.status = 0 ORDER BY c.thread DESC LIMIT 0, 50 in /home7/bryanan6/public_html/bookstasted/modules/comment/comment.module on line 991.
beth — Tue, Jul 24 2007
Ok, so I read this forever ago (June book club) and I barely remember it now. So this may be a short review.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is the story of the American-born son of two Indian parents who is named Gogol, the name of a famous Russian author. Gogol has to cope with the usual problems a child of immigrants has to face - the clash between his parents' culture and his own, Americans not understanding his background, etc. - but he also have problems due to his awkward name, with which he never feels comfortable, going so far as to change his name when he becomes an adult. The book chronicles his parents' lives and his own, following him from before his birth to well into his adulthood, through several romances and the death of his father.
I have mixed emotions about this book. I found the story pretty interesting and enjoyed reading this book, especially the parts dealing with his parents' lives before Gogol was born and Gogol's love life. I think it accurately and astutely portrays what it's like to be a child of immigrants in the US. However, the writing style was very distancing. It is written in present tense, and somehow this manner of writing made me feel aloof from the story, as if I was watching events happen from afar. I was happy with the ending however; Lahiri could have easily gone the simple "happily ever after" route or gone drastically the other way, both of which would have been predictable. I felt the ending was open enough that you felt satisfied while still able to make your own conclusions about Gogol's life.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is the story of the American-born son of two Indian parents who is named Gogol, the name of a famous Russian author. Gogol has to cope with the usual problems a child of immigrants has to face - the clash between his parents' culture and his own, Americans not understanding his background, etc. - but he also have problems due to his awkward name, with which he never feels comfortable, going so far as to change his name when he becomes an adult. The book chronicles his parents' lives and his own, following him from before his birth to well into his adulthood, through several romances and the death of his father.
I have mixed emotions about this book. I found the story pretty interesting and enjoyed reading this book, especially the parts dealing with his parents' lives before Gogol was born and Gogol's love life. I think it accurately and astutely portrays what it's like to be a child of immigrants in the US. However, the writing style was very distancing. It is written in present tense, and somehow this manner of writing made me feel aloof from the story, as if I was watching events happen from afar. I was happy with the ending however; Lahiri could have easily gone the simple "happily ever after" route or gone drastically the other way, both of which would have been predictable. I felt the ending was open enough that you felt satisfied while still able to make your own conclusions about Gogol's life.
Recent comments
20 hours 12 min ago
20 hours 27 min ago
20 hours 42 min ago
20 hours 56 min ago
21 hours 11 min ago
21 hours 26 min ago
21 hours 40 min ago
21 hours 54 min ago
22 hours 9 min ago
22 hours 23 min ago