Sharma Depicts Tragic 'Family Life'

“I didn’t cry at home or at the hospital because I didn’t want to add to my parents’ problems,” Ajay Mishra narrates in the touching, down-to-earth novel “Family Life” by Akhail Sharma. Based largely on Sharma’s own life and experiences, “Family Life” follows the life story of Ajay Mishra, the youngest son of an Indian family that immigrates to America in the 1970s during the first wave of Indian immigration. Initially filled with hope and optimism for a better future, the family encounters tragedy in America and is left in disarray and ruins. A unique, extraordinarily moving immigrant story, “Family Life” brilliantly breaks down the modern-day idealistic portrayal of the American dream and illustrates the importance of family over individual success.

Sharma elegantly captures Ajay’s growth from an insolent, selfish boy to a mature young man through a touching portrayal of his life experiences. Ajay begins his story when he is eight years old and living in poor conditions of Delhi, India with his mother, father, and older brother Birju. As the narrator, Ajay holds nothing back from the reader. He confesses moments of self-centeredness during his childhood, depicting his eight-year-old self as an ignorant, selfish child. When his family decides to move to America, Ajay is forced to give away his toys, and writes, “The boy’s hand struck my palm. As soon as it did, I wanted my car back.” He even shows ignorance when tragedy strikes the family in America. When Birju is left brain-dead after he hits his head while diving at the local swimming pool, the accident devastates the family. Yet Ajay initially thinks to himself how great it would be to be the only child.

Sharma skillfully depicts Ajay’s maturation and coming-of-age through his developing passion for reading, which in turn creates in him a love of writing. Ajay soon feels the destruction the accident has caused in the family, and he becomes a more independent young man. In order to avoid his parents’ fights that make “the walls vibrate...with rage” and his father’s hopelessness and alcoholism, Ajay turns to the world of literature and books. He becomes particularly interested in the life of Ernest Hemingway; as he loses himself in Hemingway’s adventurous experiences, he finds his passion for reading and writing and begins to write short stories mimicking Hemingway’s simple style. The level of sophistication that Sharma utilizes to write about Ajay’s growing interesting in writing helps paint his gradual character growth. He describes how reading these books made him feel transformed: “I felt like I was being connected to a world where stories were written…and had the sense that I was being taken away from my own life and brought into a world that was glamorous.” Although his parents, too consumed in their own grief, fail to notice Ajay’s budding maturity, Ajay uses his passion for writing to cope with the misery brought upon by Birju’s accident.

At the heart of the novel’s success is its touching depiction of raw emotion that comes to life through Sharma’s simplistic language and realistic narrative voice. Sharma’s writing style is Hemingway-esque and facilitates an honest portrayal of human emotion. One evening, Ajay confesses his sadness to his father, who responds, “You’re sad? I want to hang myself every day.” Although much of the novel is mired in despair and grief, Sharma also creates powerfully moving moments of love and beauty. While bathing Birju, Ajay and his mother jokingly call Birju silly names and tease him, trying to forget about his disabilities. One night, Ajay even sleeps next to his brother and confides in him his insecurities and worries.

Unlike many other novels about immigration that laud America as a land of opportunity, “Family Life” downplays Ajay’s success in school and later on in life in order to emphasize the idea that the fulfillment of the American dream cannot bring back the shattered pieces of Ajay’s family. Even though Ajay’s excellent grades garner attention from other Indian families, Ajay’s family cannot enjoy the success due to their internal fighting. And although Ajay does in some ways achieve the American dream—he ends up making a six-figure salary later on in life—his fulfillment of that dream ironically ends up meaning absolutely nothing when he cannot find ways to spend all his money. Instead, the novel emphasizes the value of family over the superficial accumulation of achievements and material wealth. “Family Life” beautifully addresses the narrow-mindedness of focusing on social prosperity and serves as a reminder that family always comes first.