"No matter where you go in the world, there is only one story: of youth, and loss, and yearning for redemption. So we tell the same story, over and over. Just the details are different".I saw a copy of Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry on the library bookshelf several times before deciding to finally pick it up and check it out for the 10 out of 100 challenge. It is quite a chunkster (400+ pages), but in the end worth reading.
Family Matters is set in Bombay during the 1990s. Nariman Vakeel is a 79-year-old Parsi widower suffering from Parkinsons's, and the oldest member in a divided family. Obsessed by memories from the past, he lives with his two middle-aged stepchildren: Coomy, a resentful and bossy woman, and Jal, quiet and compliant.
When Nariman breaks his ankle and becomes bedridden, Coomy plots to drop the heavy duty of taking care of him on the shoulders of Roxana, Nariman's generous daughter. The plot succeeds, and Nariman goes to live with Roxana, her husband Yezad, and their two boys, in their tiny and overcrowded apartment. This causes many financial problems for the family, already straining to make ends meet, thus prompting Yezad into making up an elaborated scheme against his employer.
The main theme of the novel is family relationships and holding grudges. Coomy and Jal are resentful against Nariman because he made their mother unhappy, and because they see themselves forced to take care of a stepfather they do not love. They also envy Roxana, because she left the house to form her own family. Roxana, on the other hand, loves her father dearly, and takes care of him in the best possible way. This, however, makes things uneasy with her husband, who is frustrated by their financial difficulties and the lack of private space in the tiny apartment.
Set against the backdrop of India's personal and political corruption, ethnic and religious divisions, and the danger of negating memories, Family Matters is a family saga that keeps readers enthralled, while they learn about Nariman's past and see Roxana and Yezad's children growing up in an athmosphere of uncertainty.
An interesting book I would recommend to those who love family sagas.
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2 Comments:
I love family saga-type books. This sounds interesting. Thanks again for the great reviews.
@ Anna: I hope you like it!
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