That character alienates his neighbors by hiring a lawyer to collect on overdue bills, after which his dog is killed and his son Anand horrified.  
A minor episode in this novel describes a five-year-old struck savagely by her mother because she cannot properly tie her shoes.  The protagonist was born backwards and with six fingers, and as a child his inattentiveness led to a calf and his father drowning.  That character alienates his neighbors by hiring a lawyer to collect on overdue bills, after which his dog is killed and his son Anand horrified.  Its protagonist's eldest daughter Savi provides for his family at the end of this work.  Much of the novel is set at Hanuman House, where the protagonist's wife Shama and her bullying family, the Tulsis, drive the protagonist to buy a shoddy property in Port of Spain.  FTP, name this novel whose title character Mohun realizes his dream of owning a home, a work set in Trinidad by V.S. Naipaul.
A minor episode in this novel describes a five-year-old struck savagely by her mother because she cannot properly tie her shoes.  
A {House for Mr. Biswas} (2) [AH]