I hadn't had time to organize my thoughts about this book, then JT wrote from somewhere in Minnesota (hi JT!) and asked me what I thought ... Here's some of what I wrote to her.

Overall, I liked it ... But it wasn't quite as complex & nuanced as I would have expected from a Pulitzer Prize winner. Of course her prize was for short stories -- and this is her first novel -- so I imagine it was a hard transition to the long form.

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I read the Namesake b/c my best friend from college loves Jhumpa Lahiri too. She spent a semester in India; not sure if that has anything to do with it or not. Anyway, she is always moaning that she (Lahiri) is not more prolific!

I do think Lahiri's writing is fantastic. She has that enviable way of telling the story so simply and elegantly, making it look so easy. (While if you've ever tried to write anything you know how much went into making it look easy.)

I said I didn't think it was complex & nuanced as I expected, but that's not exactly it. It's like, she hints at all this stuff, and she goes much further with it than a short story would, but she could have gone even further. I hope in her next novel she does.