Lejla Imamovi Imamovi itibaren Sapaha, Uttar Pradesh 272124, Hindistan itibaren Sapaha, Uttar Pradesh 272124, Hindistan

I wanted to love this book the way I did "Interpreter of Maladies." But that didn't happen. I was impressed with Lahiri's vivid character portraits and intimate views of identity, but disappointed by the pace of the story. Whereas her short stories were perfect, gems without a word wasted or misplaced, "The Namesake" felt over-detailed, at times a bit plodding, as though Lahiri forgot that even though novels provide more space than short stories, they are not an excuse to squander words or paragraphs. It was far too long, far too detailed when unnecessary and written with too much brevity when it mattered and I wanted more depth. Boo. The most appropriate rating I could give this book would be 2.5 stars so I rounded up to 3.