Minutes May book: The Namesake

The Namesake

by Jhumpa Lahiri

(chosen by Elster)

Theme: Book with a bird on the cover




On the day of last year's No.1 Melbourne Ladies Bookclub end of year dinner, Elster heard Rafael Epstein talking on ABC Radio about this book, saying it was the best book he had read all year. (It was later featured as one of his bookclub choices). So Elster bought a copy to put into our traditional 'Great Book Swap for Indigenous Literacy' that night. When no-one had chosen it off the table by the time her turn came around, she took it herself, and decided to make it her book choice for 2014.

It doesn't have a bird on the cover. No.1 Melbourne Ladies never let 'rules' get in the way of a great book choice.

About the author:

Jhumpa Lahiri is the author of three books, most recently Unaccustomed Earth. Her debut collection, Interpreter of Maladies, won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship and her work has been translated into twenty-nine languages.

(general biographical detail from the publisher's website)

What the publisher says about the book:

Jhumpa Lahiri's debut story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, took the literary world by storm when it won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000. Fans who flocked to her stories will be captivated by her best-selling first novel, now in paperback for the first time. 

The Namesake is a finely wrought, deeply moving family drama that illuminates this acclaimed author's signature themes: the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, the tangled ties between generations. The Namesake takes the Ganguli family from their tradition-bound life in Calcutta through their fraught transformation into Americans. On the heels of an arranged wedding, Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli settle in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Ashoke does his best to adapt while his wife pines for home. When their son, Gogol, is born, the task of naming him betrays their hope of respecting old ways in a new world. And we watch as Gogol stumbles along the first-generation path, strewn with conflicting loyalties, comic detours, and wrenching love affairs. 

With empathy and penetrating insight, Lahiri explores the expectations bestowed on us by our parents and the means by which we come to define who we are.

What we discussed about the book:

• Is this autobiographical to any extent?
• Did we realise that it was a female author (for those of us who didn't already know that)?  The strength of the male character voice.
• The engaging writing style - what devices were used to achieve such well-rounded characters?
• How did we feel when the father died? Did we see it coming?
• How did the jumps in chronology move the narrative along?  Were there parts where we felt cheated by the jumps?
• The importance of the concept of 'name'. Do certain names carry certain characteristics?  e.g. Nikhil could talk to girls, but Gogol couldn't
• Why did it take Gogol so long to finally read the book?
• Did Maxine fully understand the cultural implications of Gogol's upbringing and background?
• Was he just another guy to her?
• Was Gogol trying to erase or ignore his background up to the point of his father's death?
• Was Moushumi a relationship of convenience? For him? For her?
• Did she resent her cultural background?
• How well did this book depict the immigrant experience, regardless of country of origin?
• How did we feel towards Gogol? Did we like him as a character? Why or why not?
• What was the point of Dimitri?

And then we were sidetracked into:

• The clash between assimilation and the desire to hold onto traditions and culture. How is that best managed?
• Instances where people choose different names to those they are given as a baby. e.g. international students 'Anglicizing' their names while they are in Australia, celebrities choosing stage names... 
• Does a name you choose yourself hold greater significance than one you are given?
• The impressions names convey- e.g. Kathy vs Kathleen or Candi vs Candice....Do people respond differently to the same person using different versions of the name? 

In other news, we discussed:

• Is there an inherently racist undertone to asking someone 'Where are you from?'
• The success of arranged marriages vs non arranged.
• Whether it is appropriate for a doctor to comment on your shoes during/following any kind of gynae appointment?
• The etiquette of texting. At what point should you just dial.the.friggin.number and speak?

Ratings:
Range: 7.5 to 8.5
Average: 7.92

Next book: The Go-Between by L P Hartley (chosen by Gypsy)