Family Life

I enjoyed reading Family Life by Akhil Sharma which tells the story of a middle-class Indian family migrating to the USA in the late 1970s.  The narrator, Ajay, is in his early teens when he, his brother Birju and his parents leave their home to live in a different culture.  Everything is new and takes some adjusting.  Not long after their arrival "something" happens which has a powerful impact on all their lives.  Ajay goes to high school and experiences some bullying.  He becomes a good scholar and helps his parents.  The reader becomes very attached to Ajay and feels for him as he lives his sometimes difficult life.  There is love and tenderness shown in this story and the yearning for happiness.  When it comes, should it be embraced, or refused to someone more worthy.  4/5