I'm about halfway through and so far it's a really good book (I haven't seen the movie yet). I really identify with the character as the story is very similar to my own (with some cultural differences). The name thing is also something that hits somewhat close to home, though the origin of my name is less esoteric than the protagonist's.
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Re: The Namesake
Mo,
My understaning is that the protagonist Gogol wants to change his name to an ethnic Indian one. IIRC, you once said that your name was Mustafa, which seems bona-fide egyptian. It would seem to be a completely different situation ?