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Lisa's Reviews > The Namesake
The Namesake
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by
Lisa's review
bookshelves: 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, pulitzer, nice-try-but-no-cigars, meh
Jan 02, 2016
bookshelves: 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, pulitzer, nice-try-but-no-cigars, meh
Nice book on struggling with intercultural identities.
I stare and stare at that sentence. I can't believe that is all I have to say about this novel. After all, this is MY topic. This is my life. My profession. My passion. How do people fit into a dominant culture if their parents come from somewhere else? Which customs do they pick from which environment, and how do they adapt to form a crosscultural identity that works for them? How is their language affected by constant switching? Where - if at all - do they feel at home? Do they have benefits from living between two worlds, or is it a loss? All those things are contained in this Pulitzer-winning author's novel, and yet...
All I can say is: "It's nice."
And when I taught language at an international school, I used to tell students struggling with synonyms to avoid repetitive use of common adjectives:
"Nice is not a nice word. Find something more glorious!"
I stare and stare at that sentence. I can't believe that is all I have to say about this novel. After all, this is MY topic. This is my life. My profession. My passion. How do people fit into a dominant culture if their parents come from somewhere else? Which customs do they pick from which environment, and how do they adapt to form a crosscultural identity that works for them? How is their language affected by constant switching? Where - if at all - do they feel at home? Do they have benefits from living between two worlds, or is it a loss? All those things are contained in this Pulitzer-winning author's novel, and yet...
All I can say is: "It's nice."
And when I taught language at an international school, I used to tell students struggling with synonyms to avoid repetitive use of common adjectives:
"Nice is not a nice word. Find something more glorious!"
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Reading Progress
January 2, 2016
– Shelved
January 2, 2016
– Shelved as:
1001-books-to-read-before-you-die
January 2, 2016
– Shelved as:
pulitzer
Started Reading
April 18, 2018
– Shelved as:
nice-try-but-no-cigars
April 18, 2018
– Shelved as:
meh
April 18, 2018
–
Finished Reading
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message 1:
by
Sonya
(new)
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rated it 3 stars
Apr 18, 2018 08:55AM
Interpreter of Maladies is a better book. The Namesake, while I enjoyed it, left me cold.
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When I was writing my college application essays over two years ago, my application consultant encouraged me to read this book. That's why I decided I would not read it. I don't want to waste my time on a book that reads like a "nice" application essay.
I was taught at primary school never to use the word 'nice' and I have never dared use it since (indoctrination?) 😏
Anne wrote: "I was taught at primary school never to use the word 'nice' and I have never dared use it since (indoctrination?) 😏"Great's not so great either, I used to say :-)
Elie wrote: "When I was writing my college application essays over two years ago, my application consultant encouraged me to read this book. That's why I decided I would not read it. I don't want to waste my ti..."It would indeed work nicely as an application essay :-)
Sonya wrote: "Interpreter of Maladies is a better book. The Namesake, while I enjoyed it, left me cold."Thanks for recommending Interpreter - I didn't really feel tempted to try another one at first!
Why is "nice" not a nice word? My "nice" is nicer than others' "glorious". But I come from a different culture, so that might be the reason why I try to avoid superlatives. Anyway, nice review!
Matt wrote: "Why is "nice" not a nice word? My "nice" is nicer than others' "glorious". But I come from a different culture, so that might be the reason why I try to avoid superlatives. Anyway, nice review!"Das deutsche "nett" ist ein großartiges Wort!
And thanks for the meh-word compliment on the review - it gets what it deserves.
Behave nicely, as a friend of mine says when I am in a glorious rage! In Sweden, we have taken over the word nice, and implemented it into Swedish spelling: najs is a horrible unword!
Uh das klingt etwas laangweilig - das Buch liegt derzeit auf meinem SUB wegen meiner Autorinnenchallenge
@Matt ist "nett" auf Deutsch nicht die kleine niedlichere Schwester von Scheiße?
Alexandra wrote: "@Matt ist "nett" auf Deutsch nicht die kleine niedlichere Schwester von Scheiße?"Ja, alle Scheißkerle haben eine nette kleine Schwester ;-)
This book is on my TBR list -it was a gift from a friend so I was not so sure about what is it about but your review made me want to read it, and soon :)
I felt much the same way about "Interpreter of Maladies" - nice sums it up pretty well!
Alexandra wrote: "@Matt ist "nett" auf Deutsch nicht die kleine niedlichere Schwester von Scheiße?"Man kann es ironischerweise tatsächlich so benutzen. Aber ich tue es im allgemeinen nicht. Was Sch. ist, sollte man auch so bezeichnen.
Your view of this book accords perfectly with my own, Lisa ;-) Interesting that 'nice' comes from nescius meaning 'not knowing' as in lacking knowledge.
I was also a tad bit underwhelmed by Lahiri's short stories, Lisa...nice, or even better, glorious review! ;P
Fionnuala wrote: "Your view of this book accords perfectly with my own, Lisa ;-) Interesting that 'nice' comes from nescius meaning 'not knowing' as in lacking knowledge."
Oh thank you for giving me the etymological root, Fionnuala! I didn't know ... hmmm... or should I say nice? Funny how it is a no-definition-word. Lukewarm, in the biblical spitting-out sense of the word?
Nicely done, Lisa. : ) By any other name, your reviews are just as sweet.
Paloma wrote: "This book is on my TBR list -it was a gift from a friend so I was not so sure about what is it about but your review made me want to read it, and soon :)"I hope you have a nice experience, Paloma :-)
Dolors wrote: "I was also a tad bit underwhelmed by Lahiri's short stories, Lisa...nice, or even better, glorious review! ;P"Thanks, Dolors! I will skip the short stories...
Eleanor wrote: "I felt much the same way about "Interpreter of Maladies" - nice sums it up pretty well!"So then we have to deduct that she's a"nice" author!
Ray wrote: "Nice review"Thanks, Ray! That's really nice to hear ;-)
Julie wrote: "Nicely done, Lisa. : ) By any other name, your reviews are just as sweet."Sweet is actually a sweet word, I think!
@Matt @Lisa ja das geht aber nur mit phonetischem Hintergrund. Wenn netttt [mit 4 tttt's] ausgesprochen wird, dann bedeutet es Scheiße. Wird unter Freundinnen vor allem zur Klasdifikation von Männern nach dem Rendezvous verwendet 😜 ... wie fandest Du XY? - netttt heißt da ur-langweilig
Ui ich glaube das funktioniert in Deutschland nicht denn der Deutsche spricht ja an und für sich die harten Konsonanten klar aus in Österreich gibt es das nicht da ist t=d k=g z=c
Alexandra wrote: "Ui ich glaube das funktioniert in Deutschland nicht denn der Deutsche spricht ja an und für sich die harten Konsonanten klar aus in Österreich gibt es das nicht da ist t=d k=g z=c"In Baden kann net (ein t) auch "nicht" bedeuten, und da sind wir wieder bei der Zweideutigkeit von nice angekommen.
Lisa wrote: "In Baden kann net (ein t) auch "nicht" bedeuten, und da sind wir wieder bei der Zweideutigkeit von nice angekommen. "Mer kenne aa Hessisch babbeln (sou wie Geede). Doa bedeutet "nedd" nämlisch aa "nedd".
Manuel wrote: "Among apparently more worldly, educated and forward thinking people who live in an apparently more enlightened age, it still angers me how much cultural ignorance still exists and how people still ..."Kant defined enlightenment as human emancipation from deliberate ignorance. So I guess each generation has to put in the effort. You can't inherit knowledge and understanding.
