Maxwell's Reviews > The Namesake

3.5 stars My favorite parts of any Jhumpa Lahiri story—whether it's a short story or novel—are her observations. She's so great creating realistic, emotionally-charged moments in her novels that feel so true to life. That being said, I think she excels at crafting narratives in the short story format. Both novels I've read from her have had wonderful and memorable moments but as a whole fall a little flat for me. The use of the third-person, present tense is also not my favorite because it convinces you that you are experiencing these things with the characters but you are held at a distance because you can't get inside their heads. I don't think it worked well here, and especially for a novel that deals a lot with nostalgia, traditions, and the past's effect on the present, I think the past tense would've worked better. That being said, I love Lahiri and will read anything she writes because scattered throughout her works are some incredible images, strong emotions, and lovely stories of families.