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1-Page Summary of The Namesake

Overview

The Namesake is a novel about Gogol Ganguli, an Indian-American who struggles with his name and the traditions of his family. He’s embarrassed by them in front of his American friends but eventually grows to appreciate what they went through when moving here. The book tells a story of self-discovery that will stay with its readers forever.

Ashima is an Indian immigrant who has only lived in America for a short time. She is married to Ashoke, and they have just had their first child together. However, Ashima finds herself feeling alone when she goes into labor because her marriage was arranged and lacks the strong emotions of an American marriage. If she were still living in India, she would be surrounded by family members during this time, but instead, she’s left to give birth on her own while Ashoke waits outside the hospital room.

In Calcutta, a new baby is often given a nickname until the parents can choose a good name. Ashima and Ashoke gave this right to Ashima’s grandmother, who sent in her choice of name for their child. However, before it arrived, they decided on Gogol as the name because that was what they had named their son after his father survived the train wreck by reading “Dead Souls.” That became Gogol’s legal name since he never received another one from his grandmother.

When Gogol is old enough to go to school, his father decides on a name for him. However, when the principal of the school learns that he dislikes this name and prefers his nickname, she refuses to allow him to use any other name. The issue over what name he should be called is forgotten as time goes by. When Gogol grows up, he begins feeling embarrassed about sharing a namesake with such an unusual character in history. He decides on changing his legal name once he turns eighteen years old so it would sound more Americanized. At first, Gogol enjoys being addressed by this new American-sounding moniker but later feels guilty for not appreciating the gift from his father who had given him this special Indian nickname which was also derived from one of their family’s ancestral names (Nikhil).

Gogol’s father wants him to become an engineer, but he goes to college in America for the first time and meets his future girlfriend. He also decides that he wants to be an architect instead of following his father’s wishes. When it comes time for Gogol to pick a graduate program, he chooses New York over staying close with his family at Harvard University. He falls in love with another girl who is very “American” and whose family is so normal that Gogol feels embarrassed about how different they are from her own parents. Eventually, when his father dies suddenly, Gogol realizes that he should have been closer with them rather than spending all this time away from home.

When Gogol’s mother suggests that he meet with the child of a family friend, Gogol resists at first because he knows his mother is trying to set him up with an arranged marriage. However, when he meets her, they have much in common and fall in love. They get married within a year and settle down together. Things start off well but then go downhill as she starts having an affair behind his back. He divorces her two years into their marriage before things can get worse between them. This divorce devastates him but brings him home where he begins to find peace with himself and others around him by accepting who he is for who he was born to be—a son of India (and not America).

Chapter 1

The Namesake is a book by Jhumpa Lahiri about a young man named Gogol Ganguli. It follows his life from childhood to middle age, and chronicles his struggles with finding out who he is as an immigrant son of Indian parents in America. He has trouble with the unusual name they gave him and with some traditions that embarrass him in front of his friends. However, as he grows older, he comes to appreciate what they went through when moving here and how hard it was for them to adapt to their adopted country. He also finds some solid ground between himself and the world around him so that he can have peace within himself.