The Namesake

by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Namesake: Genre 1 key example

Genre
Explanation and Analysis:

The Namesake is a Bildungsroman ("education" or coming-of-age novel) as well as a family drama. The novel contends with experiences specific to Bengali families living in America and can thus also be classified as a work of American immigration literature. This genre is a broad one, including watershed novels such as Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. The Namesake, like its peers within the genre, seeks to juxtapose American culture with the culture of its characters' home country (in this case, India/Bengal).