3.5 stars

As you read this book you keep expecting the turn around moment, maybe things don't end up perfect but you start to see them on the mend before the end of the book. Instead the characters are a bit static, but instead of making the book slow and dull it gives you the sense of humanity, of being unable to see your own flaws and grow from that or even more powerful, of being able to see your own flaws but being unable to change the trajectory of your life or act more appropriately.

The majority of this book follows two separate story lines. The first is about three generations of a Bengali family sharing the same large house. I enjoyed learning about the Bengali culture and the family dynamics were quite interesting. There were one to two chapters about several of the family members in the different generations. While this was interesting I felt like I never got to know any one of these characters very well. It felt like we were finally starting to get to know a character and then the chapter ended and we were off to someone else. The other story line was the diary of the eldest grandson who left home to be a part of a communist revolution. We did get to know this character better and I felt this section seemed to relay a very good sense of difficult life was for the rural poor in this country. However, this story line did involve some very intense and descriptive violence that was upsetting to read. It felt realistic to the story I was just not prepared for that when I picked up the book.

I won this book from Good Reads and put off reading for a while due to the length. It was not the quickest moving book and took me a while to read. I would never have read the book if I had not won it but overall I am glad that I did read it. I was able to learn about a culture and a time about which I knew virtually nothing.

A measure of a good book is when it not only brings alive a scene in front of your eyes but makes you feel the emotions of the characters. And in The Lives of Others, the author does this brilliantly. The book also provokes you to the think...Has the world got the definition of development and progress right?

I really enjoyed reading The Lives of Others, though I can see how some people would not enjoy it. This isn't a book I would recommend to everyone. If you're not at least basically knowledgable about the caste system, Indian cultural values, some of the recent history of India (20th century), and the way they break down their names into nicknames-- this book will be difficult to push through. I read a lot of Indian literature in college, and continue after, and I still found myself referring to the glossary in the back and looking up bits of history that would help clarify what was going on in the novel. Lots of characters with very long names- it really helps if you write down all the names, which kids belong to which parents and some details about them to help you learn who these people are. If the characters never get appreciated individually, you won't appreciate this book.
It's almost like a book of anecdotes about each different character and Mukherjee weaves them together into one family portrait. I would recommend The Lives of Others if you are interested in storytelling and Indian culture because while this is a work of fiction it is very realistic and could almost be called a historical fiction with some of the material it covers.

http://www.b00kr3vi3ws.in/2014/07/LivesOfOthers.html

The Lives of Others narrates the story of one Supratik and his family, set in the 1960s Calcutta. This is the era when the Naxalite were terrorizing and changing the lives of many. While Supratik’s family is struggling with a crumbling business, his concern is more focused towards improving the lives of the poor through communist ideals. So of course there is a clash of ideals and thoughts within the family. How does Supratik handle things? What steps would he take?

The title itself is intriguing and very apt for the scenario. We Indians have a tendency to evaluate and judge the Lives of others never mind the status of our own. Through the protagonist, Supratik, the author probably tells the story of hundred other youngsters of the time. He is a strong character with a mind of his own and the will to follow through his ideals. Besides, him the other characters may feel a bit dull though they each bring in their own flavours to the novel. I especially enjoyed reading about the nuances of a Bengali family that is so typical that made me feel like I know Supratik’s family. Then there is the matter of author’s depiction of the Naxalite band and their effect – of the violence of that era. He has handled it with as much honesty as about the rest of the things in the book.

Overall a refreshingly well narrated story of all things Bengali, with s strong plot (and sub-plots) that will keep the reader engaged throughout.