'Namesake' is one book that I avoided for a very long time. I was so overwhelmed by 'Interpreter of Maladies' that I found it impossible to read Namesake without continuously (and at times may be unknowingly also) comparing it with the the other book. It would have been unfair to the author as well as myself as a reader. Then Mira Nair made a film on this book and I decided to leave aside both the book and the movie. Last month I stumbled upon 'Interpreter..' and could not resist reading it again and realized that though my fascination for the book was still there, I was no longer in awe of it. And then I decided to go for the Namesake.
Jhumpa Lahiri is a gifted story teller. Her language is simple yet effective and she allows the events to unfold and characters to evolve very naturally. That gives a very smooth flow to her stories-something we always expect from an author. I, as a reader, also like her for the sympathy she has for each character.
Namesake is Gogol's story; whose life is typical of a child of a first generation immigrant indian. The story has no surprise. Asoke for some reason moves to US. He marries a typical bengali girl, Asima, whose life is a struggle to make adjustments that all other characters demand from her from time to time. Gogol does not like anything that relates him to his roots-his parenrs, his relatives, India or even the local bengali friends of his father.
Asoke is the central character of this story and has strong influence on all other characters and the events, either direct or through Gogol. However, after initial part of the story, he is present more in the background. In a way, his influence is more like that of a 'sutradhaar' in sanskrit/hindi dramas. Its difficult to miss his presence in the book even when he is dead (somewhere in the middle of the story). At times his influence seems to be waning but still you have a feeling that its he who is responsible for whatever is happening. Asima is there throughout the book but more like a non-entity. She is present and still does not matter. She does not impact the story more than the house she stays in. With bit of imagination, one can substitute her with almost anything, without in anyway changing the story.
Sonia (Gogol's sister) and other characters are all there to represent different stereotypes that the author's prejudice warrant. Moushami has received more attention from the author precisely because she represents a very strong stereotype of second generation US-Indians. Sonia could have fit the bill but I think the author was not very comfortable with Sonia doing that part (the Ganguly family has author's unconditional sympathy)- again reflecting a bias that can only amuse you.
Gogol (Nikhil) is all that he wanted to be, trying (rather succesfully) to shape his destiny throughout his life, and still his life is, in a way, pre-destined. In a strange tragic way, its Asoke who unwittingly and unconsciously decides what Gogol is and what he will finally be .
This story is so simple and predictable and yet so tragic! An expat couple attached to their roots. Their children who are baffled and frustrated by why certain things are so important to their parents. And the tension that is enevitable! What is so special? Isn't it the story of an entire generation of Indians who went to the US for a decent living and settled there.
That is Jhumpa Lahiri for you. With her, the story becomes your own story and you are so involved with her characters-her imaginations! What makes this story so excruciatingly painful comes from outside-from us, the readers, who feel compelled to reach out to her hapless characters despite thier weaknesses, their failings. I felt for Asima when she was very new to the US. How can you feel for her, who, as I said earlier is absolutely nobody in the story. Why, you even feel for the other bengali families, when you find out how they tried to keep in touch in a foreign land and stuff like that. I feel for Sonia, for whatever happened to Gogol might have happened to her also (apart from the naming fiasco). Moushami, for she shows what demands you place on yourself for getting acceptance in the mainstream society in an alien land. And Asoke! I just love him. A typical Indian father whose presence is always felt, even in his absence and he indeed is practically absent in the book.
What makes this book an absolute agony is that whenever I think of Gogol, I feel miserable: for my two little daughters.
