Friday, October 12, 2007

Love interests

The women in Gogol's life seemed to serve as milestones as he matured. What were your thoughts on the three love interests that we meet?
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3 comments:

kc said...

Ruth, Maxine and Moushumi?

2:12 AM, October 13, 2007
kc said...

I thought the depiction of these three relationships was a real strength in the book, although they kind of seemed "stacked up" in some ways, not developed organically enough, and segues between them seemed sort of hollow, like a subtitle on a screen that just says "3 years later."

I liked the idyllic, free-spirited, super-eager feel of the college romance. I remember that feeling vividly — the sheer excitement, the sense of freedom, of learning new things and experiencing the world together while you're still figuring out who you are as an individual. I was impresed with Lahiri's natural handling of this and how she ended the relationship — the bittersweet pull of identities, the bickering that seeps in out of nowhere, the drift of life and work.

I really enjoyed reading about Maxine, too (her house, what they ate, the wines they drank, what they talked about at dinner, how they all truly enjoyed one another's company). I feel a little guilty for liking her and her family so much, because I don't think Lahiri thought much of them in the end. It seemed like the final verdict was that they were rich white liberals who were fundamentally self-centered and lived a kind of insular, claustrophic life and had a more or less "bookish" understanding of other people. Did you have that sense? Gogol really enjoyed them, too, I think, and could have drifted along for a long time in their milieu, but something was missing.

Moushumi was great, and in a way I think it was a bold move to have their relationship not work out. The whole book seemed to be moving toward Gogol reconciling himself to his heritage, and I'm glad Lahiri decided to achieve that reconciliation by other means than settling him down in a storybook marriage with someone of his "own kind."

I agree with the reviewer who noted some problems at this point in the story with Gogol getting lost, but I also think it was important to show Moushumi's point of view during the affair, that her reasons for doing it had to do with her own past and self-image and adjustment problems.

11:43 AM, October 13, 2007
Erin said...

Yes, yes, yes! You're totally right.

Maxine's family was fascinating, like they lived in their own little universe. (I did read one review that said they were stereotypical rich, white New Yorkers, but I must not be familiar enough with that stereotype to find it tiresome.) And I think you're right that Lahiri had a negative image of them as a whole. They seem very free and easy-going and caring and accepting, but they're also shallow and insular, as you say, and that couldn't be a fulfilling life for Gogol.

I also liked it that the Moushumi relationship didn't work out. They both had such issues with their childhoods and their heritage, and they jumped directly into marriage. It was a great story line, and it was a great move to end it the way it did.

11:26 AM, October 14, 2007

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