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Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry

In Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry, Nariman Vakeel is a 79-year old widower in Bombay who was already suffering from Parkinson's Disease when he falls and breaks his ankle. Bedridden and unable to care of even his basic needs, his care initially falls to his stepdaughter Coomy, who just wants to be rid of him. She foists Nariman off on his daughter, Roxanna, and his arrival in the small apartment she shares with her husband and children creates a large stress on her family. Roxanna sees to all her father's needs while her husband, uncomfortable with the whole situation, seeks meaning to his life outside the home. A finalist for the 2002 Booker Prize, Family Matters explores themes of family, the reversal of care between generations as they age, and the thin line between middle class and poverty in modern India. The Boston Globe calls this "an emotionally satisfying, deeply moving novel."