The Namesake
by Jhumpa Lahiri
(Houghton Mifflin) $24
In a recent New York Times Magazine interview, Jhumpa Lahiri said she realizes that her popularity has something to do with Americans' current craze for all things Indian. Well, all things Americans associate with India. Yoga, for example: Lahiri claims to know no devotees in India. While her gorgeous new novel, The Namesake, makes no mention of ashtanga, it does conjure up a fully realized and authentic foreign world, that of Bengali immigrants living on the Eastern Seaboard.
The novel follows Gogol Ganguli (son of Ashoke and Ashmira) as he grows, along with his parents, into life in America. Gogol's mother is pained by the pull between her homeland and her new life, and, like her, Gogol exists between two worlds--conflicted about arranged marriages and premarital sex, between lentil dahl and cheeseburgers.
It is rare to read a fine novel that could legitimately be accompanied by a recipe book. The pages teem with elaborate, mouthwatering descriptions of everything from porcini ravioli and paella with mussels and clams to masses of Indian food such as roasted cauliflower, lamb korma, and piping hot samosas. From the first page (when Ashmira is stirring up a pregnancy snack of Rice Krispies, peanuts, and red onion with salt, lemon juice, and slices of green chili) to the final chapter's molding of mincemeat croquettes, Lahiri puts food and eating into their proper place of ultimate importance. It is a compliment to Lahiri, and to the richness of her book, that you wish the novel were longer.
Jhumpa Lahiri reads at UW (Kane Hall, room 120) on Fri Oct 3 at 7 pm. Free (tickets required); 624-6600 for info.
