This is a novel about assimilation and generational differences written by the much acclaimed writer of “Interpreter of Maladies” Jhumpa Lahiri, and won the Pulitzer prize in 2000.
After an arranged marriage, Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli emigrate to Massachusetts, and soon after Gogal is born. The choice of this name for their son has a bizarre history to it – Ashoke was reading Nikola Gogl’s ‘The Overcoat’ which saved him when the train he was on was derailed and most passengers died. The couple adopt American ways, yet all their friends are Bengalis. For Gogol and his sister, Boston is home and trips to Calcutta are voyages to a foreign land! Gogol finds his strange name irritating and eventually changes it to Nikhil. The story is about a teenager, struggling to come to terms with his heritage and the challenges of growing up and the tugging of family ties.
The pace is relaxed and the storyline character driven. This book has also been made into a movie. The following is a link to You tube of the movie.
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