
The Namesake
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Narrated by:
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Sarita Choudhury
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By:
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Jhumpa Lahiri
Soon after they arrive in Cambridge, their first child is born, a boy. According to Indian custom, the child will be given two names: an official name, to be bestowed by the great-grandmother, and a pet name to be used only by family. But the letter from India with the child's official name never arrives, and so the baby's parents decide on a pet name to use for the time being. Ashoke chooses a name that has particular significance for him: on a train trip back in India several years earlier, he had been reading a short story collection by one of his most beloved Russian writers, Nikolai Gogol, when the train derailed in the middle of the night, killing almost all the sleeping passengers onboard. Ashoke had stayed awake to read his Gogol, and he believes the book saved his life. His child will be known, then, as Gogol.
Lahiri brings her enormous powers of description to her first novel, infusing scene after scene with profound emotional depth. Condensed and controlled, The Namesake covers three decades and crosses continents, all the while zooming in at very precise moments on telling detail, sensory richness, and fine nuances of character.
©2003 Jhumpa Lahiri (P)2003 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a Division of Random House, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"This poignant treatment of the immigrant experience is a rich, stimulating fusion of authentic emotion, ironic observation, and revealing details." ( Library Journal)
"This is a fine novel from a superb writer." ( The Washington Post)
"An effortless and self-assured bildungsroman that more than delivers on the promise of... Interpreter of Maladies." ( Book Magazine)
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Narration is terrible, the accent seems forced and stereotypical. It distracts from the story.
Lacking
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A story of immigrant culture and love 
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Enjoyable
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I found this book to be a master class in imagery and setting. I loved being about to see the story unfold as I continued to read as well as feel like I was in the same room with each person.
Looking forward to reading her other works.
Thoroughly Enjoyed This Story!
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The audio book is of excellent quality and the narrator speaks clearly and with ease, allowing the audience to become engrossed by Lahiri's careful crafting of the English language.
A Name Not to be Forgotten
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Loved the story, not the reading.
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Nice story… Too quietly written…
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Superb Narrator
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good read
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Engrossing
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