One of the quirks I’ve noticed since I’ve been living in Nevada is how proud people are of how long their family has been in Nevada. If someone is a third, fourth, or fifth generation Nevadan, that will be one of the first things out of their mouths when they meet you. Growing up in Michigan, I never heard someone proudly call themselves a third-generation Michigander. It never would have occurred to anyone to say. Part of it, I think, is the immigrant culture of the other side of the country. Plenty of people aren’t even third-generation Americans.
When I went to school at the University of Michigan, it it felt like all the Indian kids knew each other. They had built-in friends as soon as they walked on campus. Good friends, not the “that girl who graduated a few years ahead of me and we were in the National Honors Society together” friends. Their parents knew each other, they would explain. But I didn’t really get it…with some exceptions, I wasn’t necessarily close to my parents’ friends’ kids. And then I read The Namesake, and it clicked…
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When I was living in Florida there was a lot of chat about if someone was a “native Floridian” (born in the state v. moved there) and if native, how many generations they went back. I wonder if its endemic of places that see a lot of migrants moving in from other states?
Also, thank you for keeping this book on my radar. bonnie and many other cannonballers have been singing its praises and I plan to (hopefully) read it this year. The TBR is 70 books long and counting… just for 2016.
Huh! Nice to know it’s not just Nevada, and you’re probably spot-on…a significant chunk (like, a fifth to a quarter) of Nevadans aren’t from here originally, myself included, so that probably explains why it’s such a big deal. I’d actually had a copy of this book sitting around for several years before I read it because I just always had something more pressing pop up and I was so glad that I finally sat down and read it. I need to get everything else she’s written and read it as soon as I can, she’s just an incredible writer!
Welcome to the Jhumpa fanclub! I love everything she’s ever written, but I try to spread them out so that way it’s not just endless waiting for her next one.