Thoughts on "The Namesake"

Finishing the novel, I had mixed reviews and thoughts. One thought was simply, why would Lahiri write such a story? If it wasn't for the keen attention to detail that Sage implements in the minds of all it's English students, this story could have been the basic portrayal of a standard Bengali life, with really, minimal meaning and purpose.

Kick in that keen attention to detail, and suddenly, there was a whole different story. A story about the struggle of traditions, and adapting to new lifestyles, ideals, and philosophies, along with the importance of a name and its affect on life, family, and also tradition became prominent themes. And suddenly, I thought it was a fantastic book.

To be honest, I haven't been entirely fond of any assigned school readings, whether it was at Sage or St. Margarets. They're all so sad and pessimistic. Yes, "The Namesake" had its sad parts, like his dad dying and Moshoumi cheating on him, etc. etc. But this was, might I say, a good sad. A reasonable sad, with a purpose. Not a sad such as an uncle being murdered by his vengeful nephew who's father was killed by his same uncle who also married his mother. Sorry Shakespeare, but I put that under the unreasonable  pointless, sad. "The Namesake" had an element of honesty and purity that was appealing to me, and ultimately was why I would say I enjoyed this book more than any other book I have read for school. It was an easy, detailed read, and I felt connected to the book to some degree as well, living with multiple traditions and having an unusual name (maybe not as bad as Gogol, but still, you get the point).

Thank you , Jhumpa Lahiri.