The Namesake

by Jhumpa Lahiri

First published 2005

Gogol Ganguli's name binds him to his immigrant parents' past. As he grows up in suburban America, he chafes against this legacy, determined to forge his own path. But when Gogol confronts the limits of his self-reinvention, he must reconcile his need for independence with the roles and ties that define who he is.

Genres: family-life, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, contemporary, 21st-century

Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking

Tropes: fish-out-of-water, self-discovery

Setting: Massachusetts

Period: 20th-century, 21st-century

304 pages · Paperback · Mariner

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