Point of View

"Family Life" is told through the lens of Ajay as he grows from 8-year-old boy to a grown man almost 10 years out of college. The reader experiences his observations of life as a young boy in India, a younger brother, a son, a young immigrant to America in the 1970s, and as a boy who is trying to figure out who he is, why he exists, and what kind of place he has in his family.

Ajay's observations and descriptions of his life experiences are mostly void of large displays of emotion. There is a general sense of contentment while his family still lives in India, and once they come to America he seems enthralled with things like running hot water and a huge library full of books. After Birju's accident, however, Ajay's observations and descriptions of life are far more negative and obligation-laden. He...