Family Matters | ROHINTON MISTRY | The characters come alive

Family Matters | ROHINTON MISTRY | From the Mundane to the Meaning

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Family Matters

	Family Matters ROHINTON MISTRY, 2002 - 448 pages average customer review:based on 60 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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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The characters come alive

Mistry is a very talented author. About fifty pages into this book I found all the major characters believable. Mistry depicts their complexity by intermittently showing various sides of these individuals. His style is realistic and enjoyable to read. I was transported to Mumbai every time I picked up the book. In addition Mistry has the skill to show humor, human resilience, and happiness in people even at times of great stress.

If you enjoyed A Fine Balance (Mistry's best selling other book), you will not be disappointed by Family Matters. Mistry is one of the best Indian authors I have read despite not being as famous as Rushdie. I highly recommend Family Matters and of course A Fine Balance.

P.S. I am a stingy Amazon reviewer who infrequently gives books 5 stars. This one really deserved it.

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From the Mundane to the Meaning

Mistry plunges us into the lives of members of an extended (and blended) modern Indian family. They could be an Italian or a Chinese family, though, for the problems they face are universal. How, and who, to care for an aging parent. Marital and money stresses. Sibling rivalry. Love in all its forms.
What is so remarkable about Mistry as a writer, is his ability to draw your sympathy to one character, then, as he writes from another character's point of view, your sympathy changes. He writes brilliantly in the mind of the old man, the equally well writes in the minds of the two young boys, and everyone in between, presenting a slice of modern life with much pathos. He is just an amazing writer.

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Touching Story

I enjoyed "Family Matters", and found it superior to "A Fine Balance" as a story. It was not overburdened with history and politics as was "A Fine Balance", therefore this book was a more natural, and less engineered read. The only problem I encountered with it was that I found the general turn toward the end a bit difficult to believe. It just seemed to come out of nowhere. I think that a little bit more character development might have remedied this apparent fault.

Books are like friends...

Books are like friends.

You need to meet new friends during the proper time in your life.

Sometimes you are ready to greet a new friend and sometimes not.

The growth of a friendship depends on where you are in your life's journey.

The events in your life dictate whom you can relate to...

your circumstances often determine which people will "gel" with you.

You may have a wonderful book just waiting to make your acquaintance, but the timing is not right.

Read a book over and over, but there are only certain moments in your life when the book will "gel" and develop a relationship with your mind.

FAMILY MATTERS is a companion that spans the life journey from youth to old age. This story is ready to greet teenagers, young adults, middle aged and elderly alike.

This wonderful journey through the life of an extended Parsi family in Bombay during the mid 1990's is guaranteed to be a companion that will serve the reader well during many moments in one's life.

Rohinton Mistry has the talent of creating a bridge between cultures, drawing one into the intimate lives of a family that is just like all families... yet, offering the reader an opportunity to visit and breathe in the distinct heritage of this Indian family.

There are no great saints or sinners in this story.

The very core of this tale is the need for empathy... not to be confused with sympathy.
When we sympathize for another, we feel sorry for the individual, but remain separate. With empathy... we enter the person's very being. We feel what that individual is feeling and in doing so attain a step closer to enlightment.

Here is the backbone of this story in the author's words as told by the boisterous shop owner Mr. Kapur:

"Everyone underestimates their own life. Funny thing is, in the end, all our stories--your life, my life, old Husain's life, they're the same. In fact, no matter where you go in the world, there is only one important story: of youth, and loss, and yearning for redemption. So we tell the same story, over and over. Just the details are different" (p. 197).

The bottom line?

This novel is well worth your time. You may want to own two copies. One to keep and revisit, and another to pass on to your loved ones... because this is a book well worth sharing.

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