No One Can Pronounce My Name: A Novel by Rakesh Satyal (Epub)

Description

A HUMOROUS AND TENDER MULTIGENERATIONAL NOVEL ABOUT IMMIGRANTS AND OUTSIDERS―THOSE TRYING TO FIND THEIR PLACE IN AMERICAN SOCIETY AND WITHIN THEIR OWN FAMILIES

In a suburb outside Cleveland, a community of Indian Americans has settled into lives that straddle the divide between Eastern and Western cultures. For some, America is a bewildering and alienating place where coworkers can’t pronounce your name but will eagerly repeat the Sanskrit phrases from their yoga class. Harit, a lonely Indian immigrant in his mid forties, lives with his mother who can no longer function after the death of Harit’s sister, Swati. In a misguided attempt to keep both himself and his mother sane, Harit has taken to dressing up in a sari every night to pass himself off as his sister. Meanwhile, Ranjana, also an Indian immigrant in her mid forties, has just seen her only child, Prashant, off to college. Worried that her husband has begun an affair, she seeks solace by writing paranormal romances in secret. When Harit and Ranjana’s paths cross, they begin a strange yet necessary friendship that brings to light their own passions and fears.

Rakesh Satyal’s No One Can Pronounce My Name is a distinctive, funny, and insightful look into the lives of people who must reconcile the strictures of their culture and traditions with their own dreams and desires.

User’s Reviews

Review “A deeply charming tale of unexpected friendship.”―Entertainment Weekly (Must List) “It says something about both the reach of Satyal’s story and his wry skill as a storyteller, that, while I was reading, I kept thinking of Barbara Pym…No One Can Pronounce My Name explores the politics of sexual identity, as well as the immigrant and first-generation American experience, but, unfashionable as it may sound, the novel’s greater achievement lies in the compassionate, comic way it explores the universal human experience of loneliness.”―Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air “This story of trying to find one’s way in a new country, and through grief, beautifully extracts and distills every single emotion. Readers will finish wanting more.”―Rolling Stone “Rakesh Satyal’s funny, big-hearted book is an interrogation of the possibilities of immigrant literature….Because Satyal’s cast is so diverse it’s easy to miss that he’s giving us the universality we hear so much about.”―The New Republic “Gentle, funny and utterly charming.”―The Seattle Times”An extraordinarily compassionate work of fiction….Through a successful blend of pathos and humor, Satyal bravely explores themes of intimacy, identity and sexuality, asking his characters―and his readers―to closely examine the inalienable qualities that make us all human. With emotionally charged prose, he masterfully depicts the modern-day immigrant experience in a manner that is both deeply personal and universally relatable, transforming the foreign into the familiar.”―Bookpage “A funny, compassionate portrayal of the immigrant and second-generation immigrant experience.”―Chicago Review of Books”[A] well-crafted and heartwarming story chock full of characters you can’t help but root for…compulsively readable.”―Lambda Literary”A big-hearted, hopeful, and often very funny novel about the unpredictability of love . . . as well as a celebration of how, in America, it’s never too late to rethink who you are―or who you might become. Satyal has created a set of characters you’ll cheer for.”―Hanya Yanagihara, New York Times bestselling author of The People in the Trees and A Little Life”Affecting, kindhearted, and infectiously readable, No One Can Pronounce My Name is full of memorable characters joined by their yearning to belong. Rakesh Satyal spins a funny and unpredictable multigenerational tale that glitters with warmth and wisdom.”―Maria Semple, New York Times bestselling author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette? and Today Will Be Different”This humane, moving, and very funny book offers something precious and rare: a novel devoted to the life-giving bond of friendship. Through a quintessentially American tale of misfits and dreamers, Rakesh Satyal has given us a fresh vision of America: a country of strangers seeking connection, of households lit with contrary desires, held together by resourceful and enduring love.”―Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You”No One Can Pronounce My Name is a warm, life-affirming story of reckoning with past secrets, forging unexpected bonds, and finding the strength to be yourself. This big-hearted, utterly charming novel explores immigrant experience and family life with humor and compassion.”―Celeste Ng, New York Times bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You”Satyal expertly describes the everyday struggles that define his characters, and he elevates the extraordinary moments of normal life in this skilled and thought-provoking novel.”―Booklist (starred review) “A funny, uplifting novel that delivers emotionally complex characters.”―Kirkus Reviews “Rakesh Satyal writes with both tender empathy and sly wit, and his characters are vulnerable, admirable, and idiosyncratic. No One Can Pronounce My Name beautifully explores the challenges of asserting individuality in the face of societal and cultural proscriptions. Movingly and believably, Ranjana and Harit find each other, and then, thanks to their lovely friendship, themselves.”―Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man and The Astral”Satyal captures his characters’ experiences within a close-knit Indian community, rounded out with excellent supporting characters…who have their own stories to tell, resulting in a vivid, complex tale.”―Publishers Weekly “Insightful….an enjoyable read with an East Indian flair.”―Library Journal

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ An insightful sophomore release, that rings true on so many levels and leaves you wanting more.Satyal’s mastery of subtly rich character and emotional nuances make you believe in, root for, and ride-along with each and every personality he artfully paints for us — even the (seemingly) curmudgeon husband/father figure we all relate to, whether or not you’re of Indian. One can only imagine the characters and encounters that inspire the author’s portraits!This story is for lovers of life and personal discovery. For mothers, fathers, sons, daughters and siblings wanting to better understand those estranged relationships in your own family. Oh, and touching, yet comedic story arcs involving vampire fan-fic, department store apparel, road trips, coffee shops, mysterious signs, colorful saris, and/or Portuguese-obsessed Pulitzer prize-winning authors — all with an intimately familiar immigrant American twist.Do yourself a favor. Treat yourself to this book. Then lend it someone you love (or buy them a copy =)

⭐ I am doing a challenge that every month they give you a list of keywords that have to be in the title. One of the keywords was My. I have this book in my Kindle and believed, because of the title, that it was a humorous book. But I was wrong.This book centers around the life of a group of Indians. But all the stories were all over very disorganized. Sometimes I found myself thinking “why” because I couldn’t understand the reason behind the plot of most of the characters, ie . Harit. The character named Ranjana is the one that carries the story. She is mother, wife, friend, advisor and writer. Each of the stories are around one of Ranjana ‘s roles.I continue reading the book because I liked Ranjana. The book has the right ending. All the characters are together and everything is wrapped with a pink ribbon.The book is rich with Indians traditions and believes. And you feel the characters’ struggles with traditions and the modern world.

⭐ I do not see any need to offer yet another rehash of the plot summary. So I will get right to it and say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and did not want to put it down! The characters were interesting and likable. Although they were all flawed to some degree or other, their inadequacies and problems felt real. In the end the characters were all better versions of themselves, in spite of their challenges. The plot was well developed with compelling twists and no loose ends at the conclusion. I purchased this book with a bit of trepidation about the vampire theme that was mentioned in some of the reviews. However, that was really a minor, but yet very relevant and interesting aspect of the story.

⭐ I often complain about no character development, flat descriptions and no insight into the thinking….not so much with this book. There were times when I thought I’d lose the will to carry on reading cause I just lost patience with all the labeling placed on the individual’s insecurities. Much of it was labeled being Indian, being an immigrant or gay and Indian and an immigrant. I saw much the issues to be everyone’s…not male, female, hetero/homosexual US citizen, immigrant…just human. But in the end the story survived my times of disinterest and I can say it was an enjoyable, sometimes intelligent and memorable. And for me, decidedly about humans from wherever living anywhere.

⭐ It’s a really lovely book. I’m a big fan of Ann Patchett and it had a certain of her quality to it (not the least being the theme of strangers thrown together forge meaning). Though I was initially concerned that it might be narrowly written — either in sexuality, gender, or ethnically — it’s none of those things. It’s a lovely tapestry of diverse perspectives and circumstances that is crisply told. It took a little bit to gain momentum, but then couldn’t put it down. A real joy.

⭐ No One Can Pronounce My Name is a fresh and funny novel and a great read for anyone looking for rich characters and subtle humor. In a sea of summer reads, this book was standout for me, both unique and very well-written. It follows the lives of several characters and feels very important and timely in our current climate, following the lives of several characters who are immigrants to America.Highly recommend!

⭐ This richly told and carefully threaded novel revives some of the modern novel’s greatest themes: alienation in the modern world, the awakening of the self (mind and body), and the desire to have a voice that matters. One chapter in particular feels as though Satyal somehow managed to take The Rainbow and Their Eyes Were Watching God and distill them down to twenty pages of luminous prose about a young Indian woman. Full of heart and humor, and offering a window into the gregarious Indian immigrant lifeworld of the American midwest, this novel makes you root for the characters while learning a thing or two from their style and fortitude.

⭐ I’ve been stuck in between feeling a little like I’d outgrown the genre fic I read growing up, and not really connecting with literary fic. This novel is definitely grown-up writing, with a sensitivity to the complexities of people and society, and it isn’t boring or driven by shock-value or lacking in heart like a lot of critically praised novels I’ve read.

⭐ I loved this book so much. It did what the best books do–made me laugh, made me cry, and deeply touched my heart. The characters were real and I fell in love with almost all of them for their humanity, their foibles, and their vulnerability. Satyal (whose previous novel, BLUE BOY, I also loved) has a gift of bringing us characters we can watch grow and change and, surprisingly sometimes, love. Highly recommended read, both for readers who are looking for books that celebrate diversity and for those who simply celebrate the resilience of the human heart.

⭐ WALK, don’t run to get this book! (You do not want to be run over by a bus and miss the pleasures of this wonderful story.) I finished the book 2 weeks ago, and still find myself thinking of the characters and wishing I knew where their futures would take them. Through the lens of immigrants to the US, the novel brings us all along – reminding us of the deep human need to be connected and “and home.” I hope Mr. Satyal is deep into his next book. Consider one copy pre-sold.

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