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A review by anupammahadeo
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Have you ever read something that cut so deeply to the core of who you are? Something that exposes the root of who you are and the questions that make you yourself? Reading this book was an uncomfortable experience at times, as it felt like Lahiri had seen the strands of identity that have influenced every part of my life and put them on paper with ridiculous clarity for the world to see. Books have explored the unique experience of being an immigrant in a new land, but few have deeply navigated the lives of first-generation ABCDs like this one.
At times, it does feel like Lahiri’s prose and ability to portray emotion with her writing masks somewhat inconsistent pacing of the plot, and it did feel like some important points were relegated to being flashbacks while mundane moments were given paragraphs of flowing details.
For any other book, the plot and pacing faults would be significant shortcomings that would affect the score significantly, but this is an exceptional example of an imperfect book meeting its perfect audience.
At times, it does feel like Lahiri’s prose and ability to portray emotion with her writing masks somewhat inconsistent pacing of the plot, and it did feel like some important points were relegated to being flashbacks while mundane moments were given paragraphs of flowing details.
For any other book, the plot and pacing faults would be significant shortcomings that would affect the score significantly, but this is an exceptional example of an imperfect book meeting its perfect audience.