Quotes from book
The Namesake

Name: The Namesake
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri

The Namesake is the first novel by American author Jhumpa Lahiri. It was originally a novel published in The New Yorker and was later expanded to a full-length novel. It explores many of the same emotional and cultural themes as her Pulitzer Prize-winning short story collection Interpreter of Maladies. Moving between events in Calcutta, Boston, and New York City, the novel examines the nuances involved with being caught between two conflicting cultures with highly distinct religious, social, and ideological differences.

“That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake

“You are still young, free.. Do yourself a favor. Before it's too late, without thinking too much about it first, pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it. One day it will be too late.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake

“Somehow, bad news, however ridden with static, however filled with echoes, always manages to be conveyed.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake

“One hand, five homes. A lifetime in a fist.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake

“On a sticky August evening two weeks before her due date, Ashima Ganguli stands in the kitchen of a Central Square apartment, combining Rice Krispies and Planters peanuts and chopped red onion in bowl.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake

“She has the gift of accepting her life.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake

“Pet names are a persistent remnant of childhood, a reminder that life is not always so serious, so formal, so complicated.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake

“Pack a pillow and blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake

“Remember that you and I made this journey together to a place where there was nowhere left to go.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Variant: Remember it always. Remember that you and I made this journey and went together to a place where there was nowhere left to go.
Source: The Namesake

“My grandfather always says that's what books are for," Ashoke said, using the opportunity to open the volume in his hands. “To travel without moving an inch.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake, (2003) p. 16.

“You remind me of everything that followed.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake

“Do what I will never do.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake

“Pet names are a persistant remnant of childhood, a reminder that life is not always so serious, so formal, so complicated. They are a reminder, too, that one is not all things to all people.”

Jhumpa Lahiri book The Namesake

Source: The Namesake