I figure that one star is fair, because I only enjoyed the first fifth of this book.  By page 200, only the fact that I would be attending a book discussion kept me going.  To be fair, most of the group liked the book.

This book is written in a style that I personally call "The Airplane Seatmate from Hell."  That is, the book prattles on in a boring manner about superficial and sometimes slightly deep subjects in excessive detail.  People don't have snacks, or even wine and cheese, they have merlot and asiago, but they have very few reactions to the events in their lives.  We know that Ashima was embarrassed when she said "finger and toe" instead of "fingers and toes", but why did she get a library job?  Did she like it? How did close contact with a presumably wider segment of American society affect her? How did she affect her coworkers?

There is little character development.  The elder Gangulis seem to be generic Bengali emigrants; we have individual details about them, but they don't have individual personalities.  I don't think that I would have thought that anyone was acting out of character because I never had a clear idea of what they were like.

Since I knew that I was going to read this, I didn't read the flaps or anything else about it.  The first 50-60 pages were quite interesting as I learned about Bengali customs.  I assumed, from these opening pages, that the Gangulis were going back to India when Ashoke finished his degree.  An exemplar of the problem with the book is that I cannot figure out why they remained in the USA.  Oh, we know why Ashoke went to America, but now that he has had his adventure and he doesn't seem to love the USA as his mentor Ghosh loved Britain, why does he stay?

I don't mean to take a "love or leave it" stance: there would be a lot of stateless persons if that was the rule.  It is simply that the Gangulis seem to miss India terribly, and there is no explanation for their remaining in the USA.  Other members of the group threw out various suggestions, but the issue isn't the top ten reasons why people move to the USA, but rather, why did this particular family stay here?  People may live regretfully in exile, forced from, or prevented from returning to their country by famine, war, political turmoil, poverty, etc., but these don't apply to the Gangulis.  Other group members suggested that Lahiri wanted to show how people are torn between cultures.  I'm sure they are, but "torn" implies a pull from at least two sides: what is the pull of the USA for the Gangulis?  Are we supposed to just assume that of course, everybody wants to live in the USA?

The book uses a great many flashbacks, which stifles what little narrative drive there is.  Very emotional scenes tend to be avoided in the present and discussed only in the past tense in a rather flat way.

If Gogol/Nikhil's constant obsessing over his name is supposed to indicate divided loyalties, it would have been better to have used a Bengali name versus a European name; say, Nikhil/Nicholas.  Otherwise, he needs to get psychological help - in a culture where people commonly have two names, why is this such a problem for him?  For that matter, other Americans often have two or more names - what's the big deal?  I can understand that one may be wistful at losing all the people who used a family nickname, but this seems to be the most important issue in his life.  Perhaps if we understood what this means to him besides vaguely that it is a dilemma, I'd be more sympathetic.  His intercultural conflicts also seem minor and manageable: it's not like his parents are on his case to accept an arranged marriage.  Altogether, a tedious character.  [Added later:] Nikhil/Gogol's dilemma might have had some resonance if it had been portrayed as the struggle within ourselves, between conflicting wants and needs, that everyone experiences.  One can feel like a stranger in a strange land in the place that one was born.

Ashima was mildly interesting, and Sonia might have been very interesting, but she was a minor character.

I've read much better books about the immigrant experience, both fiction and nonfiction: Eric Liu's&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Accidental-Asian-Notes-of-a-Native-Speaker/dp/0375704868/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker</a>; Isaac Asimov's In Memory Still Green, where he dicusses the shock to his Russian parents of suddenly being illiterate;&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Fifth-Chinese-Daughter/dp/0295968265/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Fifth Chinese Daughter</a>&nbsp;by Jade Snow Wong; the dilemmas of Pakhistani-Britain Sahlah Malik in Elizabeth Georges'&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Deception-on-His-Mind/dp/0553575090/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Deception on His Mind</a>; the movie&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bend-It-Like-Beckham-Widescreen-Edition/dp/B00005JM2Y/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Bend It Like Beckham (Widescreen Edition)</a>.  I recommend this only to people with a particular interest in Bengalis.  Or, read the first few chapters, learn some interesting things abut Bengalis, and forget the rest of the book.  Or just read a book about Bengal:&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Calcutta-A-Cultural-and-Literary-History-Cities-of-the-Imagination/dp/1566564883/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Calcutta: A Cultural and Literary History (Cities of the Imagination)</a>&nbsp;by Krishna Dutta or&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bengal-Sites-and-Sights/dp/8185026599/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Bengal: Sites and Sights</a>&nbsp;by Pratapaditya Pal & Enamul Haque both sound promising.
I figure that one star is fair, because I only enjoyed the first fifth of this book. By page 200, only the fact that I would be attending a book discussion kept me going. To be fair, most of the group liked the book. This book is written in a style that I personally call "The Airplane Seatmate from Hell. "  That is, the book prattles on in a boring manner about superficial and sometimes slightly deep subjects in excessive detail. People don't have snacks, or even wine and cheese, they have merlot and asiago, but they have very few reactions to the events in their lives. We know that Ashima was embarrassed when she said "finger and toe" instead of "fingers and toes", but why did she get a library job? Did she like it? How did close contact with a presumably wider segment of American society affect her? How did she affect her coworkers? There is little character development. The elder Gangulis seem to be generic Bengali emigrants; we have individual details about them, but they don't have individual personalities. I don't think that I would have thought that anyone was acting out of character because I never had a clear idea of what they were like. Since I knew that I was going to read this, I didn't read the flaps or anything else about it. The first 50-60 pages were quite interesting as I learned about Bengali customs. I assumed, from these opening pages, that the Gangulis were going back to India when Ashoke finished his degree. An exemplar of the problem with the book is that I cannot figure out why they remained in the USA. Oh, we know why Ashoke went to America, but now that he has had his adventure and he doesn't seem to love the USA as his mentor Ghosh loved Britain, why does he stay? I don't mean to take a "love or leave it" stance: there would be a lot of stateless persons if that was the rule. It is simply that the Gangulis seem to miss India terribly, and there is no explanation for their remaining in the USA. Other members of the group threw out various suggestions, but the issue isn't the top ten reasons why people move to the USA, but rather, why did this particular family stay here? People may live regretfully in exile, forced from, or prevented from returning to their country by famine, war, political turmoil, poverty, etc. , but these don't apply to the Gangulis. Other group members suggested that Lahiri wanted to show how people are torn between cultures. I'm sure they are, but "torn" implies a pull from at least two sides: what is the pull of the USA for the Gangulis? Are we supposed to just assume that of course, everybody wants to live in the USA? The book uses a great many flashbacks, which stifles what little narrative drive there is. Very emotional scenes tend to be avoided in the present and discussed only in the past tense in a rather flat way. If Gogol/Nikhil's constant obsessing over his name is supposed to indicate divided loyalties, it would have been better to have used a Bengali name versus a European name; say, Nikhil/Nicholas. Otherwise, he needs to get psychological help - in a culture where people commonly have two names, why is this such a problem for him? For that matter, other Americans often have two or more names - what's the big deal? I can understand that one may be wistful at losing all the people who used a family nickname, but this seems to be the most important issue in his life. Perhaps if we understood what this means to him besides vaguely that it is a dilemma, I'd be more sympathetic. His intercultural conflicts also seem minor and manageable: it's not like his parents are on his case to accept an arranged marriage. Altogether, a tedious character. [Added later:] Nikhil/Gogol's dilemma might have had some resonance if it had been portrayed as the struggle within ourselves, between conflicting wants and needs, that everyone experiences. One can feel like a stranger in a strange land in the place that one was born. Ashima was mildly interesting, and Sonia might have been very interesting, but she was a minor character. I've read much better books about the immigrant experience, both fiction and nonfiction: Eric Liu's&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Accidental-Asian-Notes-of-a-Native-Speaker/dp/0375704868/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt? ie=UTF8">The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker</a>; Isaac Asimov's In Memory Still Green, where he dicusses the shock to his Russian parents of suddenly being illiterate;&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Fifth-Chinese-Daughter/dp/0295968265/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt? ie=UTF8">Fifth Chinese Daughter</a>&nbsp;by Jade Snow Wong; the dilemmas of Pakhistani-Britain Sahlah Malik in Elizabeth Georges'&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Deception-on-His-Mind/dp/0553575090/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt? ie=UTF8">Deception on His Mind</a>; the movie&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bend-It-Like-Beckham-Widescreen-Edition/dp/B00005JM2Y/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt? ie=UTF8">Bend It Like Beckham (Widescreen Edition)</a>. I recommend this only to people with a particular interest in Bengalis. Or, read the first few chapters, learn some interesting things abut Bengalis, and forget the rest of the book. Or just read a book about Bengal:&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Calcutta-A-Cultural-and-Literary-History-Cities-of-the-Imagination/dp/1566564883/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt? ie=UTF8">Calcutta: A Cultural and Literary History (Cities of the Imagination)</a>&nbsp;by Krishna Dutta or&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bengal-Sites-and-Sights/dp/8185026599/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt? ie=UTF8">Bengal: Sites and Sights</a>&nbsp;by Pratapaditya Pal & Enamul Haque both sound promising.