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Family Matters
 
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Family Matters [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Mistry (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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For Family Matters, Rohinton Mistry puts his own spin on Tolstoy's maxim that "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." The result is a thoroughly absorbing tale about matters of family, told with wise, gentle humour. In the early 1990s, Hindu fundamentalists, the Shiv Sena, razed the Babri mosque, a Muslim holy site in the Indian city of Ayodhya. This incident and the bloody inter-religious strife it precipitated form the novel's political background, which encroaches on the realm of personal ethics with dire and unforeseen consequences.

Family Matters, which follows upon Mistry's much lauded novels, Such a Long Journey and A Fine Balance, is a modern take on King Lear set in the roiling multicultural bustle of Bombay. Mistry's Lear is Nariman Vakeel, an elderly widower of the Parsi minority, who lives with his two middle-aged stepchildren, the embittered Coomy and her decent but spineless sister, Jal. When Nariman breaks his leg, Coomy and Jal conspire to off-load him onto their younger half-sister, the good-hearted Roxana, whose family is barely making ends meet as it is.

Mistry engages all the family members in the telling of his saga. Entering the interior world of each character, he presents a richly textured portrait of how a family copes or fails to cope with the messes and smells of an infirm member, about the friable brink of poverty that can leave one vulnerable to the seduction of the quick fix, about the corruptive power of bitterness, about how room can always be made in the human heart. A less compelling subplot involving Roxana's husband Yezad aside, the undeniable fulcrum of both the family and the narrative remains the charismatic and wise patriarch, Nariman. Tortured by regret, haunted by memories that, despite the decrepitude of his body, will not be repressed, he will surely leave an indelible mark on readers of this novel about how family truly does matter. --Diana Kuprel --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Warm, humane, tender and bittersweet are not the words one would expect to describe a novel that portrays a society where the government is corrupt, the standard of living is barely above poverty level and religious, ethnic and class divisions poison the community. Yet Mistrys compassionate eye and his ability to focus on the small decencies that maintain civilization, preserve the family unit and even lead to happiness attest to his masterly skill as a writer who makes sense of the world by using laughter, as one of his characters observes. Bombay in the mid-1990s, a once-elegant city in the process of deterioration, is mirrored in the physical situation of elderly retired professor Nariman Vakeel, whose body is succumbing to the progressive debilitation of Parkinsons disease. Narimans apartment, which he shares with his two resentful, middle-aged stepchildren, is also in terrible disrepair. But when an accident forces him to recuperate in the tortuously crowded apartment that barely accommodates his daughter Roxana, her husband and two young boys, family tensions are exacerbated and the limits of responsibility and obligation are explored with a full measure of anguish. In the ensuing situation, everyones behavior deteriorates, and the affecting secret of Narimans thwarted lifetime love affair provides a haunting leitmotif. Light moments of domestic interaction, a series of ridiculous comic situations, ironic juxtapositions and tenderly observed human eccentricities provide humorous relief, as the author of A Fine Balance again explores the tightrope act that constitutes life on this planet. Mistry is not just a fiction writer; he's a philosopher who finds meaning-indeed, perhaps a divine plan in small human interactions. This beautifully paced, elegantly expressed novel is notable for the breadth of its vision as well as its immensely appealing characters and enticing plot.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the read, Dec 8 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Family Matters (Paperback)
This was a really great book with lots of insight into families and the complicated feelings that we have for our relatives. Mistry is a great writer because his characters are so well developed, you can feel them; and there is always something redeeming in each character and some empathy to be found for even the most vile characters in his stories.

The only reason I gave this only 4 stars is because I have read Mistry's other books and this one is not quite as good. For one of the greatest books I have ever read, check out A Fine Balance.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful insight from a talented writer, Aug 14 2002
By 
This review is from: Family Matters (Hardcover)
Family matters is a wonderful book - from insight into India culture to the trials of growing older. The portrayal of a family and the manner in which they handle (or midhandle) family obligations, gives us an intimate connection to all that happens in this book. Mistry's prose draws us in and holds us in fascination as he takes us through the simpilicty and intricacies of the three generations of a family. A masterpiece on the human condition, a must read for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of the "human condition".
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5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking and right on for families with issues, Jan 18 2006
By 
This review is from: Family Matters (Paperback)
The colorful characters could be from any culture yet the author has added Bombay's unique flavor to the story. I loved this book and could not put it down.
I was sad when the book ended as I knew I must bid farewell to the characters I had become "close" to.
Thank you to Mistry for a wonderful novel.
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