The Namesake

Why can't I like this book more? People rave and rave about this book and I kind of slogged through it. Peeps, this book bored me. I felt like an unlover of literature.

This book is about cultural conflict. A boy with parents from India struggles with his identity and culture and mostly (HORRORS) his unusual name. He rebels against his parents in some ways and even starts dating a crazy and sexually aggressive American girl. Indian parents do NOT approve of this girl. It's mostly because she is not from India. Like I couldn't have seen that coming a mile away.

Soon the dad dies (again, I saw this coming a mile away) and the dude begins to understand his Indian culture better. He breaks up with the American and spends more time with his family. Then his mama wants him to start dating an Indian girl that she will set him up with, he doesn't want to but does it anyway (can you get anymore transparent). Then they actually fall in love. Awesome, this story just gets better and better. And more obvious. Of course, the marriage falls apart eventually because the wife is having an affair. I don't remember this exactly, but I'm sure that after all of this there is some kind of deep thoughts about what it means to be an Indian in America.

As I said, everyone else in the world seems to have loved this book hardcore. It wasn't bad, but I just thought it was so contrived. And boring. I could not get over how bored I was reading it. So, 3/5 or 7/10 stars.