The Namesake

By: Jhumpa Lahiri

Narrated by: Sarita Choudhury

Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

The Namesake follows the Ganguli family through its journey from Calcutta to Cambridge to the Boston suburbs. Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli arrive in America at the end of the 1960s, shortly after their arranged marriage in Calcutta, in order for Ashoke to finish his engineering degree at MIT. Ashoke is forward-thinking, ready to enter into American culture if not fully at least with an open mind. His young bride is far less malleable. Isolated, desperately missing her large family back in India, she will never be at peace with this new world.

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.

Critic reviews

"This production is a treat for the sheer combination of Lahiri's striking, often enchanting descriptions and Choudhury's graceful rendering of them." ( Publishers Weekly)
"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)

Bland but sort of interesting .

I liked learning about Indian culture, but the story was not that interesting. The details about the food, the celebrations, the way they dressed was good , but the story was mediocre.

Thoroughly enjoyable

What do you want in a book? Believable characters? An engrossing plot? Beautiful narration? This audiobook has them all. Read it, then see the movie. I enjoyed both.

Great book! Definitely worth listening to👍🏾

It was overall a great book! The reader made it even more enjoyable because she was clear and easy to listen to. This book and this reader will not make you fall asleep- Trust me!

read this book

this book is so moving and emotional. the moments with the characters so feel so intimate and real. can relate to many moments in this book emotionally.

Great Book

This book was beautifully written, the characters easy to know and understand. A must read!

really great story of a Bengali family

really great narration.
the story was messy and real. I really felt like I was with them. a well written story by an awesome author.

Couldn’t stop listening.

I was introduced to this book in fall of 2014 by my favorite American Studies professor. I remember liking it then and so decided to listen to it again at the start of 2019. As I listened this time, I found myself messaging my former professor. Examining my frustration, my heart ache, my joy, and a new found awareness this second time around. I told myself this would be the last time I listen. It is too much. And by the end, I know I will likely revisit this book in a few years. The author captures, at times overwhelmingly draws out, the human experience in such minute details that could go overlooked by a rushed reader. But Sarita Choudhury brilliantly delivers those details in her reading. As a child who was brought to this country from Poland nearly 30 years ago, and as a person who changed his identity and name, I could not help but identify with all of the characters. Beautiful storytelling. Worth a read and a listen.

Gorgeous storytelling

I loved this book and quietly wept at the end at the difficulties we all face in life. Beautiful storytelling and wonderful voice work.

I really enjoyed this book

I really enjoyed this book. Be ready to cry! Thank you Jhumpa Lahiri for writing it.

Lyrical family saga between two countries

lyrical portrait of two generations of an immigrant family from Calcutta to Boston. Explores issues of identity, relationships and roots