Akhil Sharma

I had the good fortune of attending a lecture and discussion of "Family Life" with author Akhil Sharma at City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, PA a few weeks ago. While I had not read the book at the time of the event, I knew it was a perfect match for me when Sharma read aloud a section detailing the excitement of his family's first time traveling in an airplane as part of their immigration from India to New York City in the 1970s - and his mother's instruction to collect and save every item that show more was in the front seat pocket.

Small, perfectly told details like this one were reminiscent of my childhood experience and immediately forged a bond I could relate to at every step. "Family Life" presents a portrait that is far from perfect: America is not what you fantasized about; parents are not omniscient, indefatigable caretakers; religion can be as fickle as your high school friends; and the seeming necessity to complicate our lives so that we can disentangle, re-connect, and understand what brings us happiness.

"Family Life" isn't an immigrant story, it isn't a Gen X story, it isn't an Indian story, it's a story about doing the best you can when the entire world is falling apart and you don't understand why. It's a story about life: Akhil Sharma's, yours, and mine. Read it. show less

So you won't end up in a book where you might not want to be, know that in this book a father sexually abuses his daughter, and then, when he is an old man and unwell, that same daughter abuses him. So it deals with very dark matters indeed. Over the course of the novel many themes and questions emerge. What are the limits of forgiveness? Is it even possible? Can good deeds make up for bad? Is it possible to be good when the world about you is irredeemably corrupt?

Akhil Sharma is drawn to show more these dark stories. In both his novels, An Obedient Father and Family Life, horrific events tear apart families. I found, though, that the most effective element of this story had nothing to do with the abysmal family history. Rather it was the suspenseful tension generated by Mr. Karan's living off the spoils of political corruption while all the time being threatened by its brutish caprice. Sharma manages Karan's navigation of this claustrophobic terrain so well. Given how wonderfully he writes, one wishes, vainly, that his focus might someday shift away from such grim plots. show less

An Obedient Father by Akhil Sharma is a story set in India during the time of the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rayiv Gandhi in 1991, it is centred upon the life of a corrupt civil servant who we soon realize is a loathsome creature who, having molested his own daughter many years ago is now looking at his twelve year old granddaughter. This is a man who is so self-centred that he doesn’t think about anything other than what he wants. I seriously considered abandoning this book, show more but it was very well written and the parts that were about his extorting money and collecting bribes drew me in, also I read with the hope that his daughter’s rage and hatred would be unleashed upon him.

The story is full of misery, but the author paints a vivid picture of daily life in poverty-stricken Delhi and the main character, loathsome as he is, does show some depth and intelligence. An Obedient Father was a difficult read due to the subject matter but like driving past a car accident, it was almost impossible to look away. Although written in a light conversational tone, this is a book that is raw and uncompromising as it tells the story of a man’s inner conflict and base desires. The political corruption that it exposes seems quite tame in contrast. show less

** spoiler alert **

I added this to my reading list ages ago and since I read Akhil Sharma's Family Life recently, I thought I might as well read this. And now that I have, I almost wish I hadn't.

The story is disturbing, to say the least. The main character is an aging corrupt politician (corrupt politician - isn't that redundant in India?) who repeatedly committed a horrific crime (rape) against his daughter years ago for which he was never really punished. And the book goes into detail on show more that. To say it was difficult to read is an understatement.

Somehow, as the story progresses, the author almost makes you feel bad for this monster, which is incredible. You catch yourself feeling these feelings, and then think, what the hell am I thinking?!

The book also weaves in some major political events in India's history, which is an interesting angle. As bad as that is in itself, I guess it gives you a break from the above-mentioned sordid details.

The effects of the man's crime on his daughter and then his granddaughter and the ripple effects this has just made this even more depressing. Especially in light of India's culture of "what will people say" and the effects on women. Ugh, this book is a tough read and not for the faint of heart.

(I'm struggling with the rating because I think the book was well-written but the story itself...) show less