The long-awaited new novel from the twice Booker-shortlisted author. Family Matters is an intricate story of domestic conflict set against modern-day Bombay. The story centres on a 79-year-old Parsi widower named Nariman who lives with his step-son and step-daughter. Nariman's wife died many years before, leaving behind the two children from her first marriage and the daughter, Roxana, they had together. Wanting above all for Roxana not to have to live with him in this 'house of unhappiness' as he calls it, Nariman spent ...
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The long-awaited new novel from the twice Booker-shortlisted author. Family Matters is an intricate story of domestic conflict set against modern-day Bombay. The story centres on a 79-year-old Parsi widower named Nariman who lives with his step-son and step-daughter. Nariman's wife died many years before, leaving behind the two children from her first marriage and the daughter, Roxana, they had together. Wanting above all for Roxana not to have to live with him in this 'house of unhappiness' as he calls it, Nariman spent all his money to give her and her husband, Yezad, a place of their own. Now, beset by Parkinson's Disease, Nariman tries to endure his family's protectiveness until he finally defies their wishes and ventures outside. He falls and hurts his ankle and after a brief stay in hospital comes home more needy and cantankerous than ever. His step-children can't cope and Nariman goes to live with Roxana and Yezad. This sets in motion a series of events which do nothing to assuage growing family conflict and the unravelling of affections. Once again this author has created a beautifully realised world with all too human characters. This novel has all the richness, the compassion and the narrative sweep that have earned Rohinton Mistry the highest of accolades and prizes around the world. It is a stunning achievement.
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Add this copy of Family Matters B *India* to cart. $5.00, good condition, Sold by Becker's Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Faber and Faber.
Add this copy of Family Matters to cart. $6.96, very good condition, Sold by Books of the World rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, VA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Penguin Books India.
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Near Fine. New Delhi: Penguin Books India, December 2004. Trade Paperback. Near Fine. Dust stains to top edge, otherwise As New. Not from a library. No remainder mark. 500 pages. 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.
Add this copy of Family Matters to cart. $20.26, new condition, Sold by Media Smart rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hawthorne, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Faber and Faber Ltd.
Rohinton Mistry draws you into the world of a family with a stepfather and half-siblings. The patriarch is an older man, sick with Parkinson's; he winds up breaking his ankle. The story deals with who should take on the responsibility of the father. It's a story that hits home with me, as a baby boomer. I found it to be a book that's hard to put down.
