A Fine Balance: A Novel

Bringing the reader on an illuminating journey of the caste system and the inherent struggles of those in the lower echelons, Rohinton Mistry captures both the triumph and defeat of the human spirit. From the lives of a struggling widow, a boy coming into manhood and a pair of aspiring tailors- the story captures their joy and their despair in a flowing narrative that compels you to turn the page.

To read Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance, a 1995 Giller winner, is akin to reading Shakespeare's Titus. Beyond a tragedy, Titus is what my husband has come to call a catastrophe. And in many ways Mistry's A Fine Balance follows in that tradition. Carrying that classical form of tragedy, Mistry also marries the epic throughout his story, so that one very much feels part of an odyssey, complete with storms, shipwrecks, exile, monsters, betrayals and retribution.

It is not an easy read. Relentless, unforgiving, Mistry writes a complex tale that entwines the lives of two tailors in search of a better life, a woman struggling to gain independence, and a student seeking fulfillment. There is a host of subsidiary characters who walk on and off stage like the necessary and colourful characters of any Shakespearean play, dancing through the narrative like a counterpoint. And as a backdrop for all this Mistry, who now calls Canada home, writes of his native India with all the noise, squalor, divisions and desperation of the common people.

His characters are fully realized, lifting off the page with tenderness and sometimes terrifying reality. They struggle with the barriers of caste, religion and wealth. They confront demons within themselves and within their neighbours, friends and family. Just when you think everything will be okay, that there will be some redemption, some small hope, Mistry excises hope and leaves you weeping.

For the most part the language is very spare and conversational. There are a few moments of prose wandering into the purple, but they are rare. Point of view tends to wander from time to time, so that a very tight, character-oriented focus dissolves into an omniscient view; these shifts were not enough to disturb the overall arc of the story, and instead imbued the voice of the traditional storyteller, rather than detracting.

If you have never read any of Rohinton Mistry's work, I recommend you do. While certainly A Fine Balance, is not a story I would recommend for a cheery, uplifting bit of escape, it is very much a story that will haunt you and linger long after the telling.

I really enjoyed this book, but like another reviewer, I found it incredibly sad. Unfortunately, this was the way of life in India in that era (and likely still the same today). It made me feel all kinds of emotions very vividly, and opened up my eyes to the way of life on the other side of the world.

It took me a very long time to read this book, almost a year. I could not get into it at all and found myself only picking it up when I had nothing else to read. I found it dragged on endlessly, until I got to the last few chapters. Then I couldn't put it down. So I'm on the fence about it because it really wasn't worth reading the whole book and only enjoying the last few chapters. And I can't even say it was enjoying because it was so sad in the end.

I have never in my life read a book so full of despair, every time you think there is hope and your spirits lift you turn the page and you get crushed by the reality of life.

And yet I could not stop reading "A Fine Balance " or stop turning the pages so fast.

The book tells the story of four different people who struggle through life in India during the 1947 Emergency called by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, his nephew Omprakash and Maneck .

Dina comes from a well to do family, her struggle is for independence so she does not have to rely on her brother to live

Ishvar and Omprakash struggle , and I have to say the most, to overcome their Chamar - Caste and the status of being untouchables . Their story is heart breaking and haunting and just plain WRONG, makes me angry to think some people have to go through what they went through.

And Maneck who never had to go through a hard day in his life struggles with his identity, his relationship with his father and the feeling that he can't measure up to his father's expectations.

Each of these characters have a different struggle and I often wanted to smack some sense in Dina , Maneck and Ishvar because I felt some of the struggles they went through could have been avoided and are unnecessary but none the less felt for them and wanted them to succeed .

Not a lot of books leave me thinking beyond a week after reading and this book did. The characters came to life and I felt their pain beyond the pages and I felt they were real people and I wanted them to be happy . It's been 3 weeks since I read it and the story still haunts me.

This book is cruel and depressing and AMAZING, a life-changing read, and one that I would be truly sorry to see anyone miss out on.

You have to, HAVE TO.

I can count on one hand the number of books I don't like, it's just really hard for me not to be able to find something I like about a book- but I'm stuck on the fence with this one. There were parts that I laughed at, enjoyed, and felt contented about, but then as hope seemed to glimmer brighter, the clouds came out and the good was just swept out from under the characters feet. It just seemed that every time things went their way, the universe kicked them in the face.

I understand that this isn't a "feel good" book. It's sad, it's dark. The setting is a place that has seen nothing but horrible turmoil in the past one hundred years. But still. Everything just made me mad- especially the ending.

I like books like this, I like the ones that throw the dark side in your face and acknowledge the truth that the world isn't a bright, shiny place where everything works out for everyone because it's supposed to. But this one really just irritated me. Maybe it's because I wasn't in the mood for it, but I felt like I should read it, or maybe it's because it just went on and on and on (700+ pages), or maybe it's because it should have ended instead of going into Chapter whatever: Family Planning, or maybe it's because injustice just really really pisses me off and that's all this book had to offer- I don't know.

****SPOILERS****

There were parts I liked and a lot I didn't, Maneck's suicide I found truly anticlimactic, Om and Ishvar becoming beggars I found unnecessary, Dina losing everything she had fought for for so long was just depressing, and some of the details (I really don't want to say which ones) I found a bit creepy.

It's probably me though, because I liked the overall message, just not how it was presented.

This book will make one appreciate everything that they have!Never have such hardships faced by the less fortunate been put into such vivid descriptions the way the author of this book did. This story is so amazingly written and I definately think its a book that everyone needs to read!

Takes you there and you will revisit it in your head many times.

Truly great writing can be defined by continuity and recognition, and Rohinton Mistry achieves both to perfection in "A Fine Balance". The story itself is a gripping tale of a widow, two tailors, and a college student trying to make sense of an ever changing India and at the same time try to live their lives every single day in normalcy and simplicity.

Mistry reminds us all, especially those of us from a Western civilization, that there is in fact nothing easy about life. That for some, finding a place to sleep can be as difficult as winning the lottery. That no matter how steadily your life is going in one direction, it can very easily and quickly turn in another. The difference is all in the willingness to adapt to that change. This theme is continual throughout the course of the book; that we must all accept the highs and lows that are naturally bound in the discourse of living. The major caveat is that 1970's India was a much more radical place, filled with civil unrest and corruption. Those who chose to go outside the boundaries of that society, were set up for an experience that they never anticipated.

Mistry's cyclical style also is immersed in his plot development. Key individuals, moments, objects, etc. are never seen just once, and for a novel to be 700 pages and have the reader still recognize them, is a testament to the strength of this book and this author.

In my eyes, there has never been a title that defines a book better. Everything is centered around "A Fine Balance", and Mistry does not make that a challenging task for the reader to discover. He is not trying to pressure his audience to understand how much more difficult life was in 1970's India (though it is quite apparent regardless), but more so he is trying to have his audience understand key life lessons about how to never allow misfortune and bad circumstance shroud the good that surrounds being alive. Even those who have nothing, or have had everything they care about taken from them, still manage to appreciate the things that matter.

If for nothing else, read "A Fine Balance" to remind yourself of the simple truths that I'm sure you know, but so often forget.

This book revolves around people's lives in India during Indira Ghandi's rule and how they intertwine. This was an amazing read and while there is alot of tragedy here , I found the main characters resiliency to survive, no matter what the odds the balance in this.. This is so well written, from page 1 that it is a very hard book to put down. I read this book over a year ago and it still stays with me. Very much an eye opener, it changed the way I view certain things in society . So many things we take for granted are out of so many others control.

This is a tale about four ordinary people struggling to survive in mid-70s India at the time when Indira Gandhi ruled and later declared a state of internal emergency inspite of a court order calling for her resignation. During the Emergency civil liberties were suspended and birth control was mandated throughout the country.

The story revolves around Dina Dilal, a 40ish seamstress widow who has spent all her life trying to escape her domineering and self-righteous older brother. She takes in a boarder at her apartment, Maneck Kolah, a college student whose parents have sent him to the city to get a degree. Then she hires two tailors, Ishvar and his 17 yr old nephew, Omprakash, to do piece work for her and whom she later allows to live in her place. Despite all their neverending troubles, the four develop into something like a family and lean on each other in times of extreme poverty and hardship.

I highly recommend this. It is very well-written (I expected nothing less from a multi award-winning novel), and 'though you may find it too heartbreaking and utterly depressing, it will make you understand what life in third world countries was like during those times (or even during the present time), from the point of view of the homeless, the hungry, or people who have absolutely nothing. Then it will make you think how fortunate your life has become.

I read this book several years ago and loaned it to a co-worker and never saw it again. One read through was enough for me. I found it a harrowing experience. India is a place that I have always wanted to visit. I guess that was the draw for me to read it. The characters are so believeable that you can' t help but root for them in their struggle for survival. For anyone who needs a reality check this the humbling read that they need. I found myself depressed after reading it. Despite that though I still feel that the characters are telling a story that needs to be told.

I still love this book - I cried so hard I sobbed...fastest 700 page read I ever had! It is truly India - I have been and it was so similar to what I experienced.

My best friend recommended this book to me after she read it for a school project. I was at first iffy about reading it, because I knew it was going to be what I call a "heavy" read. Finally, I read it, and I am so glad that I did. This book is amazing,although it isn't for those who are easily upset. It goes into great detail about everything. While reading it, I couldn't help but wish the next chapter would bring better luck to the main characters, but it's not such a book. It's about struggles, hardship, pretty much what real life is all about. It is a must read to anyone who likes a good work of fiction, that we all know has some truth behind it.

While this book is well written and very engaging, it's also one of the most depressing stories I've ever read. The ending caused me such despair and disappointment, I threw the book on the floor (I've since picked it up and put it back on my book shelf). I don't recommend this book to pessimists; it will just drag you further down. But there's no escaping the fact that this book kept me interested, invested, and involved throughout the entire story. For that reason, I rate it a 4.

One of my fav books!!! I was hooked from the first page. A must read for anyone. It really opened up my eyes to the world and the lives of the people around me.

Every so often a book comes along that you cannot put down - this is one of them. So beautifully written it demands an emotional attachment with all the characters.
Their stories, trials and tribulations will remain with the reader long after finishing the book.
I would highly recommend this book.

a book I could read over and over again. this is a masterpiece.

I had to read this for a grade 12 ISU comparisson essay. The book is long. At first I thought HOW am I going to read this? But after reading the first few chapters, I couldn't put it down. THe book is beauituflly written, and well worth a read. The characters come out of the pages and are almost alive. THe evens seem as though they are occuring around you, but you just can't see them ...

A truly enjoyable read. Will really make you think about the world and the experiences of people. Uplifting and tragic all at once.