Reviews

同名人, by Jhumpa Lahiri

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dustycabbage's review against another edition

4.25

4.1 stars. A good book. I’m glad I read Interpreter of Maladies before this work as it feels like an amuse bouche to Lahiri’s writing. Her ability for such deep character driven stories is amazing, considering this book clocks in at just under 300 pages. I hate overusing this term, but the story is so intimately rich. There’s a richness to the love stories, the unjust deaths, and the small happenings of everyday life across 30 odd years of the Ganguli family. There’s a slow burn to the novel as you experience Gogol’s life across every tender (and not so tender) moment. The title of the book is something I kept acutely on my mind as I was someone who also struggled with my name growing up. I saw myself in a lot of Gogol’s anxiety surrounding not only his name, but his namesake and roots.

The novel reminds me of Mistry’s A Fine Balance in all the best ways as well. There’s a certain beauty to this book which made it hard for me to put down, and for that, I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates strong character driven writing with special attention to the immigrant story.

reya94's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

booksandcoffeerequired's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

baileykb's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a terrific tale of the pain of the need to assimilate into American culture. Metaphors and figurative language pushes the trails experienced by the minority.