Family Matters
Ratings12
Average rating3.5
Set in Bombay in the mid-1990s, Family Matters tells a story of familial love and obligation, of personal and political corruption, of the demands of tradition and the possibilities for compassion. Nariman Vakeel, the patriarch of a small discordant family, is beset by Parkinson’s and haunted by memories of his past. He lives with his two middle-aged stepchildren, Coomy, bitter and domineering, and her brother, Jal, mild-mannered and acquiescent. But the burden of the illness worsens the already strained family relationships. Soon, their sweet-tempered half-sister, Roxana, is forced to assume sole responsibility for her bedridden father. And Roxana’s husband, besieged by financial worries, devises a scheme of deception involving his eccentric employer at a sporting goods store, setting in motion a series of events that leads to the narrative’s moving outcome. Family Matters has all the richness, the gentle humour, and the narrative sweep that have earned Mistry the highest of accolades around the world.
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Poignant. Sometimes a tad too dramatic but that can be forgiven. Some of the characters are so real you can reach out and touch them.
Rohinton Mistry takes us right into the life of a family in this book, a family with all its
conflicts, its misunderstandings, its jealousies, and unexpected moments of redeeming love. India, his setting, seems to make
everything feel bigger and more important, both hopeless and hopeful.
Nariman is an old man who has experienced much sadness and pain in his life. He lives with his stepchildren, Jal
and Coomy, who try without much success to protect him from the world. His natural daughter, Roxana, lives with her
husband and two sons apart from her father. The lives of all the family, however, are intricately bound together.
The title, Family Matters, is wonderful, with its dual meanings of both family concerns and the importance of family.
There are no simple answers in this story. Plans, even clever plans, go awry. Good acts are not rewarded. Out of good
intentions come undeserved troubles. Despite our best efforts to stop wickedness, people continue to do the wrong things.
Moments of peace in this confusing world—acts of genuine compassion, a little laughter, a little music—are rare, but
provide us with just enough hope to continue to slog on.
Mistry is a gifted writer, excellent at writing dialogue with edgy comedy, with a whiff of hysteria, and at creating
plots that twist and turn unexpectedly, like life itself.
Recommended.
A partly nice partly crazy family tries to cope with an ailing grandfather. Although I liked the people and the atmosphere, I lost interest 3/4 through the book - the story got out of hand, I felt. It lost momentum. The father becomes obnoxious, the plot weird. A lot does not get solved. I was disappointed.
And this book gets compared with Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy? Go away...
