I really liked Akhil Sharma's "A Mistake", and the way the story captured so many different kinds of experiences. The main character's new life after immigrating to America brought about a conflict that allowed for the author to compare each character's background and the new changes that this kind of life brings.
At times I was unsure if every character in the story was dynamic or if the narrator was so changed that he saw changes in everyone because of his own changing understandings of his family. It felt, perhaps a little like both.
My favorite aspect of the story was the family dynamic, and how the narrator began seeing these changes. The way he interpreted his parents' role in his life an in the home before and after was very interesting, moving from one in which his father appeared to assert his equal role in the family life, when they had thought their mother was the sole decision-maker and the only authority they would listen to in the home. Birju's overconfidence after his acceptance to the prestigious science school reveals other changing character dynamics, as Birju acts disrespectfully towards his mother and holds himself in a way that demeans others around him, especially his younger brother, our narrator.
The ending, while I liked it and felt it fit, seemed a little predictable to me, at least in certain elements. I didn't feel as concerned for the characters in the moment - I wasn't as empathetic at the end as I had hoped to be - which made me like the ending less, and drew away from some of my appreciation for it.
At times I was unsure if every character in the story was dynamic or if the narrator was so changed that he saw changes in everyone because of his own changing understandings of his family. It felt, perhaps a little like both.
My favorite aspect of the story was the family dynamic, and how the narrator began seeing these changes. The way he interpreted his parents' role in his life an in the home before and after was very interesting, moving from one in which his father appeared to assert his equal role in the family life, when they had thought their mother was the sole decision-maker and the only authority they would listen to in the home. Birju's overconfidence after his acceptance to the prestigious science school reveals other changing character dynamics, as Birju acts disrespectfully towards his mother and holds himself in a way that demeans others around him, especially his younger brother, our narrator.
The ending, while I liked it and felt it fit, seemed a little predictable to me, at least in certain elements. I didn't feel as concerned for the characters in the moment - I wasn't as empathetic at the end as I had hoped to be - which made me like the ending less, and drew away from some of my appreciation for it.
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