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Summary: Apt Title
Review: The author could not have chosen a better title for this book! His exploration of the many different balancing acts that take place in our daily lives was incredible! Furthermore, I found the journey through post-colonial India fascinating, and compelling. So many people say that Oprah only picks depressing books, and my initial reaction was, "She's done it again!" But if you really read this book the message is inspiring. Balance is not about the swinging movements of a pendulum, but about the twitches and twinges of everyday life. Every little choice we make has the danger of upsetting that balance, but if we have faith, hope, and friends then we can survive even the most violent swings of the pendulum. If we allow our balance to be governed by outside forces, then we will fall into despair. But if we trust to our inner strengths then the balance can be maintained. I also found this book interesting on a political level. As an American Government teacher I am constantly trying to convey to my students how delicate our rights in a democracy are. There is a fine line and a Fine Balance that must be maintained between the will of the majority and the protection of the minority. Many attempts at democracy have failed because they could not maintain that balance. The treatment of the post-Colonial Indian government in this book made me further appreciate the extraordinary job that the American government has done for the last 200+ years.
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Summary: An eye-opening gaze into India
Review: This novel offers a detailed view of the struggles of daily life in India. For many this is a life constantly teetering on the edge of survival. The descriptions of India are fascinating, as are the lives of the four main characters. This is not a novel filled with hope, but with much despair. I liked the main characters, but I was somewhat distanced from them because the author uses a lot of narrative explanation about their thoughts and feelings, rather than involving the reader with them directly. I would have liked to see more hope mingled with the tragedy, although this might be unrealistic. Nevertheless, an interesting and incredibly enlightening read.
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Summary: A rare and haunting book. Deserving of its praise.
Review: About once a year I find a book that stays in my mind for a long long time. This is one. With profound compassion the author introduces us to four individuals struggling to survive in a world that throws up one obstacle after another. We learn to sympathise with each character while we also see their flaws without any cover-up. This is very moving tale. It is true that the mood is very somber. This is very deliberate. The novel also has some very light moments and expressions of love and care that are unsurpassed. The writing is supurb: characters, place and time are fully drawn. I put this my list of books I will force upon my friend. I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I.
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Summary: Life is what we fill it with....
Review: This author wrote a compelling story on 4 main characters. I tend to like reading books that teach lessons or leave something behind providing hope. This did neither. The author was great at captivating the audience and I felt as if I was in the story. I read this in 4 days in my evenings, hoping, and hoping,... only to feel jilted by hope. If you want inspiration, do not read. If you want truth or a true story line, read. This story depicts realism, as well, sadly but true... makes you realize the fortunes in your own life (health, freedoms, and family) I recommend as a personal growth lesson, but not as a "pick-me-up" (better to stick with the Sound of Music for that!)
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Summary: Depressing!!!!!!!!
Review: I was pleased to read about the political history of India, but that's as far as pleasure went with this book. What a depressing story. I kept waiting to see if hope would arise but the poor characters kept getting knocked down by life and by extremely selfish and evil people. This is not a book to read if you are looking for a positive or uplifting story line. I realize every other reviewer loved this book, but it depressed the heck out of me.
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Summary: The Best Book I have Read in a Year
Review: This book will carry you away to an exotic land that is very much the opposite of what we are used to in the US. If you enjoy books that give you an intimate and fascinating glimpse of other cultures, A Fine Balance is for you!
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Summary: It's just like real life -- and you'll never put it down
Review: I admit it: it was almost IMPOSSIBLE to put this book down -- or get it out of my head. A Fine Balance, a novel that underscores the balance in life between hope and despair (everyone and every nation goes through it to some degree) is truly a work of GENIUS. From its opening pages to its final word this is a book MOVES as quickly, joyously, and brutally, as life itself. You're going to learn some lessons....and think about some issues. The plot SEEMS simple enough. Four people from different walks and rungs on the pecking order (called the caste system) are linked together by fate (or is it something greater??) and this bond will never be broken. No matter what happens -- and a LOT happens in this novel -- some giant magnet pulls them back together. Mistry shows each character as a REAL person with moments of courage and frailty. The Strongest Link is the widow Dina Dalal, who wants to make it on her own in a culture in which that can sometimes be difficult. Villager Maneck Kohlal, a student sent to the city and the villagers Ishvar Darji and his newphew Omniprakash are tailors who had to flee to the city due to horrorific events in their village. These are the four main characters in this highly-gripping drama. But the biggest character is India itself under the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The novel unfolds at the height of her "state of emergency," a dicatorship imposed in 1975 and later lifted. It's a country in which street beggars can be rounded up and hauled against their wills to work in labor camps on the prextext of slum clearance; where men can be tricked or intimidated into being sterilized (family planning) so a commission-seeking bureaucrat can get a quota; where beggars (some of whom are babies deformed at birth on purpose so they can generate more money begging on the streets) work for a Godfather-like boss. Yet, Mistry's India is also a wonderful place where nobility survives among corruption, and the richness of its beautiful culture (food, family ties, etc) is celebrated and appreciated each day. Mistry's writing style is amazlingly easy to read. He paints mind pictures vividly, so it's like watching an epic film. Joys, tragedies, moments of realization and brutuality come SUDDENLY, just like in life. There are few "I knew this was going to happen" moments in A Fine Balance. A PERSONAL NOTE AND ENDORSEMENT OF THIS BOOK: I love India. In college I studied Indian politics and other subjects. I went over to New Delhi as a student and interned on the Hindustan Times in my senior year at college. From 1973 to 1975 I was a freelance in India, writing for the old Chicago Daily News, Christian Science Monitor and other papers. This book brought a LOT of things together that I had been told about....or read about...or witnessed. The cultural setting made me feel like I was back in India again. Dialogue was HIGHLY realistic. I left just before Mrs. Gandhi's "emergncy," but this book is an accurate depiction of some of the things I knew, heard, experienced, regretted and LOVE about India, a complex and beautiful country. I HIGHLY recommend this book to ANYONE who a)likes a good novel, b)doesn't like fiction because it loses your interest, c)is interested in India, d)wants to read a work by a true literary genius, e)is interested in doing any kind of writing. Character development, plotting, writing are all superb. The story and characters (including India) of A Fine Balance will stay with you forever.
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Summary: Well worth reading
Review: An extraordinary book -- I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Fascinating Story
Review: If you like books about other cultures, as I do, this one is an an excellent read. It takes place in India during the 1970's and the characters are so real you almost feel you are right there with them as they experience the tragedies of their lives. I found myself thinking about the characters long after finishing the book and wishing things could have been better for them. I could hardly put this book down, and will look forward to reading more stories by this author.
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Summary: Worthy of the Nobel Prize
Review: I tend to avoid Oprah's recommendations because they are too trendy and emotional but I read a few pages of this book and was hooked. I knew I was in the hands of a great writer and, like so many others that have reviewed this book, could not put it down and cannot stop thinking about the characters and India since I finished. This book deserves the Nobel prize for literature. The author reminds me of Naghib Mahfouz, the great Egyptian writer. I will definitely read all of Mistry's other books.
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