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.