Play Book Tag discussion

Rohinton Mistry is Canadian Indian, residing and writing in Toronto. Several Canadian friends recommended his work to me for this challenge. I will definitely read more of his work..this one was his first novel published in 1991. And for any interested, I would consider it a definite fit for November Litersry Fiction!

Bombay, India, 1971. India Gandhi is Prime Minister, corruption is rampant throughout all levels of government, refugees are pouring over the Pakistani border, and war between India and what is now Bangladesh is about to erupt. Against that background we have the story of Gustad, a middle-aged bank clerk, his wife Dilnavaz, and their 3 children, who live in a deteriorating apartment complex in Bombay. They are the middle class who are slowly slipping into poverty given the economic stresses of the times. The intellectually gifted eldest son is rebelling against his parents' plans for his future, their young daughter suffers a mysterious illness, and Gustad's boyhood friend, beloved by the family as Major Uncle, works in some secret capacity for the goverment and has written Gustad asking him to do him a favor. Needless to say, it pulls Gustad into something that threatens the precarious stability of his life.

This is a quiet read, taking you on an emotional journey with this family, their friends and neighbors. There is a very strong sense of place and time. There is humor, tenderness, mystery, tragedy, protest. It is not a flattering portrait of Indira Gandhi's rule. One aspect that I particularly loved was the brilliant balancing in the characters' day-to-day lives of modernity with tradition and superstition. The chapter describing the Zoroastrian funeral at Bombay's Tower of Silence of Gustad's bank colleague and friend was mind-blowing - (view spoiler)[ it involves vultures (hide spoiler)].

However, while liking it, I had to push myself to read it. It failed to engage me completely, so I only gave it 3 stars.