Rohinton Mistry
2002
Around 500 pages
So here's another novel that explores intense family dynamics as the patriarch slowly declines in health. We get painful descriptions of all the physical indignities that occur as we age and die, and our final days are a burden to those closest to us. It's very real, and incredibly depressing.
Seventy-nine-year-old Nariman Vakeel, who is suffering from Parkinson's Disease, breaks an ankle and becomes entirely dependent on his children and step-children.
Well it was interesting to get a glimpse of Parsi community in India, but I found this to be a grueling journey that wasn't much of an improvement from Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, which explored similar family themes. It does distinguish itself in certain ways with more memorable characters. As Tolstoy points out: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
At 500 pages, I was pretty much exhausted by the story by the end, although I did enjoy the resolution.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
All of Mistry's novels have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
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