Rating: 
Summary: warm with good voice and characters, lags a bit in pace
Review: Set in Bombay during the '90's, Family Matters focuses on the travails of a single family as they try to cope with caring for a degenerating father, though as is typical for a Mistry novel, things are never quite that simple. Nariman Vakeel, 79, who suffers from the accelerating onset of Parkinson's disease, trips one night and breaks his ankle. His step-children, Coomy and Jal, at first try to care for him as they have for many years, but eventually ship him over to his blood-daughter's much smaller and more cramped home. Roxana and her two sons take him in gladly, but the monetary pressure brought on by his addition to the household begins to take its toll on her husband Yezad and eventually the entire family. Meanwhile, Coomy and Jal have varying degress of guilt over their actions and come into some conflict with each other. Underlying all of this is a family history involving Nariman, his first love, and his eventual wife (mother of all three children) that has caused much pain and anger among the children and especially between Coomy and Nariman, most of which is told through flashbacks interspersed throughout the novel via Nariman's recollections. Overlapping the family story is the story of Bombay itself, its seemingly eternally pervasive corruption, the dangers of its radicalism, and the depth and width of its people's characters.
The strengths of the novel lie in its characters and its voice. The family members from oldest to youngest are fully fleshed out in wonderful precise detail and a fullness of humanity that is a pleasure to read. The same is true of of several side characters as well, especially Yezad's two companions--his friend the letter writer and his boss at the sporting goods store. Except for near the end (more on that later), you buy completely into the idea that these are living, breathing people. They are drawn in all complexity, with all the normal shadings of real people--weaknesses and strengths warring with one another on a daily or even hourly basis.
The narrative voice is also a pleasure. Mistry gives us a range of character voices--the bombastic and poetic boss, the more resignedly poetic letter writer, the pragmatic and frustrated Yezad, the sometimes wandering Nariman. They are not single-note characters, however. Yezad too has his poetic moments, his emotional moments, while Nariman can move from sharply cantankerous to warmly, fuzzily recollective. Mistry is equally adept at male and female, young and old. And the narration itself has a softly poetic feel to it, never drawing attention to itself but still inviting the reader in, giving the book an intimate, cozy feel to it.
Pacing is sometimes a problem. I thought the book lagged in a few places and probably could have been shortened somewhat, especially some of Nariman's flashbacks. My biggest problem is with the ending of the novel. Without giving away details, some of it seemed a bit perfunctory and especially regarding one character somewhat unbelievable, more of a plot contrivance than a natural outgrowth of events. That plus some of the pacing issues knocked it down a notch for me and made it not quite as strong as his earlier novel, A Fine Balance, which is one of the best books I've read in the past year.
Those problems aside, Family Matters is a moving, intimate look at family, both immediate and extended. There are some simply beautiful moments in this book, along with some quietly hearthbreaking ones, ones a reader will savor while reading and which will stay with him or her afterward. It might be set in a place foreign to most of us, but at its heart, it will feel just like to home to many. Well-recommended with a stronger recommendation to read A Fine Balance before or after (depending on if you'd rather be somewhat disappointed or surprised)
Rating:
Summary: "Family comes first"
Review: Set in the politically-corrupt Bombay, India during the 1990's FAMILY MATTERS centers on familial love and obligation of a multigenerational Parsi family. After 79-year-old Nariman Vakeel, suffering from Parkinson's Disease, falls and breaks his ankle his grown children are left to care for him, often reluctantly. His step children Coomy and Jal find the job too much to handle so they transfer the responsibilities to their youngest sister, Roxanne and her family. During the months of Nariman's recovery his family is challenged both physically and financially as they come to terms with the deterioration of their father. Meanwhile, Nariman relives his prohibited love affair with Lucy which has left his family altered forever. Similar to his previous novels, Mistry creates three-dimensional characters in unforgettable situations. However, his depth of plot revealed in A FINE BALANCE is absent in FAMILY MATTERS. Regardless, I found the theme of siblings caring for elders displayed in this book relevant across national boundaries. FAMILY MATTERS is an honest portrayal of how one family is affected by the illness of an elder and how much each party is affected.
Rating:
Summary: Road to nowhere
Review: This is an awesome book,written with great flair and passion.It paints a beautiful picture of bombay and it gave me many insightful viewpoints.However,as much as I liked the book,the ending was very disappointing.What was Rohinton trying to tell us?That the events that had happened triggered Yezda to become an obsessive prayer?That it's all family matters?I think it makes no sense.I finished the book with many unanswered questions.A great plot,but a very disappointing ending.
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