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Gogol Ganguli was not yet conceived when his mother and father arrived in the U.S. on a plane from Calcutta, freshly married and dreaming of a better life in a new country. Yet despite a birth certificate that guarantees his right to takeout pizza, Christmas, and American pop music, Gogol finds that growing up the son of immigrants is not easy. He resents the long visits back to India that interrupt his schooling and separate him from his friends; his own name, given to him by his father in honor of the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, is a source of constant embarrassment. With warmth and good humor, Lahiri follows Gogol from childhood through college and beyond, as he falls in and out of love, chooses a career, and struggles to balance the competing values of his Bengali heritage and his American upbringing. Although Gogol’s predicament is not a new one, Lahiri’s meticulous attention to detail leaves no room for stereotypes, imbuing The Namesake with a rare and powerful honesty.