Family Life is a 2014 autobiographical novel by Akhil Sharma. Set in 1978, it tells the coming-of-age story of an eight-year old Indian boy named Ajay Mishra living with his recently immigrated family in New York City. The story develops around his older brother Birju, who suffers a life-changing accident, and how the family copes with the incident.[1][2][3]

Family Life
US hardback edition
AuthorAkhil Sharma
LanguageEnglish
GenreAutobiographical novel
PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
Publication date
April 7, 2014
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Digital (ebook)
Pages224 (US hardback edition)
AwardsFolio Prize (2015)
International Dublin Literary Award (2016)
ISBN978-0-393-06005-8

This was Sharma's second published novel. It won the 2015 Folio Prize and the 2016 International Dublin Literary Award.[4][5]

Reception

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According to Book Marks, the book received "rave" reviews based on seven critic reviews with four being "rave" and three being "positive".[6] Culture Critic assessed critical response as an aggregated score of 82% based on an accumulation of British and American press reviews.[7] On The Omnivore, an aggregator of British press, the book received an "omniscore" of 4.0 out of 5.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Deraniyagala, Sonali (3 April 2014). "Akhil Sharma's 'Family Life'". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  2. ^ Wolitzer, Meg (10 April 2014). "After A Disaster In 'Family Life,' Relief Never Comes". National Public Radio. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  3. ^ Gunn, Kirsty (10 May 2014). "Family Life by Akhil Sharma review – an unhappy emigration". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  4. ^ Mark Brown (23 March 2015), Akhil Sharma wins Folio prize for fiction. The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Akhil Sharma's Family Life wins International Dublin Literary Award". BBC News. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Family Life". Book Marks. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Akhil Sharma - Family Life". Culture Critic. Archived from the original on 21 Jan 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Family Life by Akhil Sharma". The Omnivore. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
Awards
Preceded by International Dublin Literary Award recipient
2016
Succeeded by