One of the six novels to be shortlisted for the 2002 Booker prize is Rohinton Mistry’s Family Matters. The Indian-born author lives in Canada, but his writing is of his birthplace.
Set in Bombay (or Mumbai, depending on the character), the novel centres on a Parsi family and their relationship with the reluctant patriarch.
Nariman Vakeel lives in a large apartment with his middle-aged stepson, Jal, and step-daughter, Coomy. A widower in his late 70s, Nariman has Parkinson’s disease and is regarded as something of a burden, particularly by Coomy.
Despite his illness, the former professor has retained his affable and gentle wit. He is beloved by his married daughter, Roxana, and her two sons. But Coomy harbours a deep resentment against him for reasons that become clear as the story unfolds.
When he breaks his ankle, relations between Nariman and his stepchildren begin to splinter. After a spell of caring for her now invalid father-in-law Coomy decides it’s a responsibility better suited to her younger stepsister.
Roxana lives with her husband Yezad and their sons in a tiny one-bedroom apartment. Money is always tight but they are a happy, cohesive family.
The surprise arrival of Nariman and the subsequent emotional and financial pressure begins to test the family’s resources. The situation brings out the best and worst in all of them.
A frequently moving story, Family Matters explores relationships and circumstances and how each impacts upon the other. The novel traces Nariman physical deterioration and his family’s emotional fracturing as his three-week stay turns into months. Woven through the linear narrative are flashbacks to his tragic relationship with a forbidden love.
Initially Mistry’s story seems peopled with stock characters – the aging, regretful man, the embittered and conniving woman, the weak-willed brother – however as the work progresses these personalities take on bone and flesh. Mistry’s deft dialogue and narration instils the characters with depth and identity. They, their heartbreaks and their motivations seem very real.
In Family Matters, the story unfolds through the poor decisions of its characters. Morally dubious behaviour has consequences in this novel and they are uniformly tragic.
In the minutiae of life – financial worries, family dislocation – there is a sense of gravitas. The ordinariness of the troubles depicted does not preclude them from being significant.
The younger son of Roxana and Yezad, Jehangir is an avid Enid Blyton reader. The adventures of the famous five are an escape from the boredom of poverty. The constant sunniness of the English tales sharpens the severity of the problems facing the entire family. However for Jehangir and his family, money is not the answer to their troubles.
While poverty is crushing, the primary scourge for the characters in this novel is destructive relationships.
