Amy tanwhen her grandmother learned of ashimas pregnancy, she was particularly thrilled at the prospect of naming the familys first sahib. And when the namesake refers to bengalis, its being more specific that using the term indian. The marriage of ashima and ashoke is arranged by their families. The namesake follows the life of gogol ganguli, starting from when his parents immigrate from calcutta to massachusetts.
Furthermore, the passages that indicate one can be blotted out of the book of life do not stipulate that they were saved or unsaved. Readalikes are one of the many benefits of membership. Sep 01, 2004 jhumpa lahiri is the author of four works of fiction. Only those who overcome the sins of this world will be clothed in white raiment, and they will not risk getting their names blotted out of the book of life.
It stars tabu, irrfan khan, kal penn and sahira nair. Seven of the references appear in the book of revelation. Goodreads members who liked the namesake also liked. India is a huge country, and bengal is just one part of it. Interpreter of maladies, the namesake, unaccustomed earth, and the lowland. We had an email question from a reader which asked about whether or not our names can be blotted out of the lambs book of life. The namesake is a 2006 englishlanguage drama film directed by mira nair and written by sooni taraporevala based on the novel the namesake by jhumpa lahiri. The word namesake, the books thematicallyloaded title, means, in the dictionary, a person or thing that has the same name as another, and lahiri makes the.
Can a believers name be blotted out of the book of life. When we first meet ashoke and ashima ganguli they are living in a small apartment in cambridge, massachusetts, about to welcome their first child into the world. A memoir of an immigrant family coming to america, as told by a lifelong misfit who forged from his imagination an essential literary voice and, against all odds, a place in the world. By the end of that same year she was flying of to houston to be wed to a man she had. Get ideas for baby names or discover your own names history. Your name can not be blotted out of the lambs book of life and that is why i say they are not the same book. The first two books only are part of canonical scripture in the septuagint and the vulgate hence are canonical to roman catholicism and eastern orthodoxy and. Lahiris prose describes well the struggle of both first and second generation immigrants who are caught between two worlds, yet her narrative failed to draw me into the emotional struggle of her characters. Is there a difference between the book of life and the. A book of life is mentioned specifically on seven different occasions in the new testament. The namesake 2003 is the first novel by indianamerican author jhumpa lahiri and is an expanded version of a shorter novella of the same name originally published in the new yorker magazine.
Verse 12 indicated not only that the dead will be judged out of the books according to their works, but that another book is opened, which is the book of life. In the book of jubilees, known to have been in use from the late 2nd century bc, the names of the wives of noah, shem, ham and japheth are as follows. If someone died unsaved there name would then be blotted out. In the namesake, everybody is just a little bit lost. Here again lahiri displays her deft touch for the perfect detail the fleeting moment, the turn of phrase that opens whole worlds of emotion. The novels primary themes are the difficulties of growing up and reconciling two distinct cultures, learning to understand ones parents, and the correlation between names and identity. There is one book of life, and that is the book of the lamb book is a translation from the greek word biblio, strongs 976. In the old testament, people talked about blotting out of names from the book that god had written. Apr 21, 2007 the namesake a comparision between the book and the movie april 21, 2007 this book by jhumpa lahiri was published some years ago but i read it recently, when the movie was released.
The namesake by jhumpa lahiri book club discussion. Of these, six appear in the book of revelation and one in philippians. The namesake film, a 2006 drama film, based on the novel. The namesake is an emotional, heartwrenching film filled with beauty and subtlety. The attribution can, however, go in the opposite direction, with namesake referring to the original holder of the name the eponym. First, his father is reading nikolai gogols short stories when he is injured in a train accident outside calcutta. The books of the maccabees biblical literature britannica.
The namesake a comparision between the book and the. Can you talk a bit about the significance of setting in your work. Jul 18, 2019 understanding the book of life and lambs book of life as the same book, we should shift our focus to the importance of having our names in it. A when i began writing fiction seriously, my first attempts were, for some reason, always set in calcutta, which is a city i know quite well as a result of. It was originally a novel published in the new yorker and was later expanded to a fulllength novel. Mira nair obviously feels very close to the source material because her direction suits it perfectly. Disambiguation page providing links to topics that could be referred to by the same search term. A timeless, classic story of identity, family, and selfdiscovery. Jhumpa lahiri is the author of four works of fiction. While ashima is pregnant with sonia, gogol and ashoke eat dinner alone together and ashoke scolds gogol for playing with his food.
The namesake study guide contains a biography of jhumpa lahiri, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Lahiri does a wonderful job of giving you a well thought out and organized story of a young boy. Did the namesake allow you to think of america in a new way. Here we discover that a recording angel maintains a book called the book of life. The closest intimacy they share before their wedding is when ashima steps briefly, secretly, into ashokes shoes. If you are looking for a way to better understand and help you connect to your family and cultural then the namesake by jhumpa lahiri is the book for you. Understanding the book of life and lambs book of life as the same book, we should shift our focus to the importance of having our names in it. Q in your first book, interpreter of maladies, some of the stories are set in india, others in the united states. The namesake by jhumpa lahiri goodreads share book. It explores many of the same emotional and cultural themes as her pulitzer prizewinning short story collection interpreter of maladies. The novel begins in cambridge, massachusetts, in 1968.
So when the book talks about bengali traditions, bengali language, and bengali people, just remember that theyre from bengal. As movie adaptations of books go, the film adaptation is very faithful to. The lambs book of life is different from the book of life and only has those who will be saved, but the names are unsaved in the lambs book of life until they become born again as well. Ashoke is a graduate student in electrical engineering at mit. Is there a difference between the book of life and the lambs book of life. Only those who overcome the sins of this world will be clothed in white raiment, and they will not risk getting their names blotted out of the book of.
Press release for the namesake published by houghton mifflin. In 2006, the namesake was adapted into a film directed by mira nair by the same title. The namesake is the story of the ganguli family whose move from calcutta to new york evokes a lifelong balancing act to meld to a new world without forgetting the old. All the same they are determined to make a success of their new situation, well. Jhumpa lahiris novel the namesake deftly demonstrates how the familiar struggles between new and old, assimilation and cultural preservation, striving toward the future and longing for the past, play out in one particular set of foreignborn parents and their americanborn children. Ashima believes, is something that elicits the same curiosity from strangers, the same. The namesake chapters 3 and 4 summary and analysis. Do you agree that america is a real presence in the namesake.
The namesake summary from litcharts the creators of. The book of life opened verse 12 indicated not only that the dead will be judged out of the books according to their works, but that another book is opened, which is the book of life. In the novel, a series of coincidences leads up to gogols naming. The books of the maccabees, four books, none of which is in the hebrew bible but all of which appear in some manuscripts of the septuagint. The namesake a comparision between the book and the movie april 21, 2007 this book by jhumpa lahiri was published some years ago but i read it recently, when the movie was released. It explores many of the same emotional and cultural themes as her pulitzer. The book of life would be the same as the book of the living and anyone who was ever born would have been in this book. Is there a difference between the book of life and the lambs. In general, the second recipient of a name, named for the first, is said to be the namesake of the first. Practically every character struggles with his or her identity, because practically every character feels the tug and pull of different cultures, different traditions, and different dreams.
The record was compiled in 10861087, a mere twenty years after the norman conquest, at the order of william the conqueror. The first novel from the author of interpreter of maladies, winner of the 2000 pulitzer prize for fiction in the namesake, jhumpa lahiri brings her poignant style and acute observations about what it means to be an immigrant, and what it means to be part of a family, to the crosscultural, multigenerational story of the ganguli family. In the namesake, lahiri enriches the themes that made her collection an international bestseller. The young couple met through an arranged marriage in calcutta, india. Wife of noah emzara, daughter of rakeel, son of methuselah. The namesake is the story of a boy brought up indian in america, from the kind of writer who makes you want to grab the next person and say read this. Literature and film are two very different mediums and when a literary work is adapted successfully on celluloid, cinematic considerations have to be made. The namesake chapters 3 and 4 summary and analysis gradesaver. Press release for the namesake published by houghton. It is a novel about two generations of the ganguli family, and at the same. The last third of the book drags a little and didnt sustain my attention the way the rest of the book. The namesake a comparision between the book and the movie. The namesake is the story of two generations of the gangulis, a family of indian immigrants to the united states.
The namesake summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Furthermore, the passages that indicate one can be blotted out of the book of. Books similar to the namesake goodreads share book. The namesake 2003 is the first novel by american author jhumpa lahiri. Namesake has a meaning of roughly the same name we have the same namesake implies common ancestry in the name to me, for example if you were called galileo and you met someone else in the street with that name then it would make sense if you were both named after the same original person. Overview national endowment for the arts creative writing fellow jhumpa lahiri is known publicly by her nickname because her kindergarten teacher deemed it. Book of life vs lambs book of life baptist christian forums. The domesday book, our earliest public record, is a unique survey of the value and ownership of lands and resources in late 11th century england.
Namesake definition is one that has the same name as another. Gogol is more interested in listening to the beatles than looking at the book, and he is unable to appreciate it. The book and the film by amit shankar saha literature and film are two very different mediums and when a literary work is adapted successfully on celluloid, cinematic considerations have to. Find the meaning, history and popularity of given names from around the world. Alice allusion, my hero, zero, and name of cain are subtropes. The last third of the book drags a little and didnt sustain my attention the way the rest of the book did. Namesake definition of namesake by the free dictionary. Whether we believe in electionthose who will end up in the book of life have already been chosenor edge more toward the arminian view of free will, we cannot know all of whose names. The namesake is set predominantly in the united states. The film was produced by indian, american and japanese studios. Beautifully written, with vivid depictions of characters and settings that feel true and authentic. Ashima ganguli, expecting a child, makes a snack for herself in the kitchen of her apartment, which she shares with her husband, ashoke. Jan 16, 2004 the namesake by jhumpa lahiri 304pp, flamingo.
The meaning and history of first names behind the name. The two met in calcutta, where their marriage was arranged by their parents. Find books like the namesake from the worlds largest community of readers. A novel and millions of other books are available for instant. We learn at the beginning of the book that ashima never thinks of her. The book and the film by amit shankar saha literature and film are two very different mediums and when a literary work is adapted successfully on celluloid, cinematic considerations have to be made. There are eight references in new testament to the book of life, and two of them refer specifically to the book of life that belongs to the lamb, jesus christ. The entire name is the same, but its meaningless, or not overly significant. The book of life, in this context, is the set of names of those who will live with god forever in heaven. Take a boy, born in the late 1960s to indian parents living in the american suburbs, far from their native calcutta.