Jhumpa Lahiri

An incisive portrait of the immigrant experience follows the Ganguli family from their traditional life in India through their arrival in Massachusetts in the late 1960s and their difficult melding into an American way of life, in a debut novel that spans three decades, two continents, and two generations. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Interpreter of Maladies. 150,000 first printing.

The Namesake

Jhumpa Lahiri is a name that I have seen in bookshops a lot but whose novels I have never picked up as I used to read very little of the genre. But I am so, so glad for themed reading challenges and my friend recommending me two of her works.

"The Namesake" has such a fairytale and dreamlike quality to its writing and narration, even though it deals with realistic (and relevant to the modern-day) matters. Such is the quality of Lahiri's prose that you cannot help but be drawn into the lifes of her characters. And oh, in a novel like this, whether you like the characters makes or breaks the reading experience - suffice it to say that by the end, I found myself deeply caring about the Ganguli family and seeing myself feeling sorry to part ways with them.

Lahiri's treatment of themes of identity, immigration and assimilation is layered, intelligent and empathetic. In "The Namesake", she successfully demonstrates how our experiences are different because our backgrounds are different and yet they are all the same. A quiet favourite of the year, I think.

Jhumpa Lahiri is a name that I have seen in bookshops a lot but whose novels I have never picked up as I used to read very little of the genre. But I am so, so glad for themed reading challenges and my friend recommending me two of her works.

"The Namesake" has such a fairytale and dreamlike quality to its writing and narration, even though it deals with realistic (and relevant to the modern-day) matters. Such is the quality of Lahiri's prose that you cannot help but be drawn into the lifes of her characters. And oh, in a novel like this, whether you like the characters makes or breaks the reading experience - suffice it to say that by the end, I found myself deeply caring about the Ganguli family and seeing myself feeling sorry to part ways with them.

Lahiri's treatment of themes of identity, immigration and assimilation is layered, intelligent and empathetic. In "The Namesake", she successfully demonstrates how our experiences are different because our backgrounds are different and yet they are all the same. A quiet favourite of the year, I think.