Family Matters

Three generations of a family living in Bombay are depicted in this Booker-shortlisted novel.

In the city of Bombay, Nariman Vakeel—an ailing Parsi widower—lives with his middle-aged stepchildren Coomy and Jal. When Nariman breaks an ankle, he can no longer partake in his one pleasure, a daily walk through the neighborhood. Anxious to unburden herself, the resentful Coomy moves her stepfather to the home of her sister, Roxana. But the crowded household of Roxana, her husband Yezad, and their two young boys triggers disastrous consequences. Selfish acts are compounded, leading to the unraveling of family secrets in this gripping novel set during the mid-1990s.