Rating: 
Summary: Sleeping Gem.
Review: I read this story about 5 years ago and was completely enraptured. It is very long. I felt like I was in India. I could almost smell the smells, and taste the foods described in the book. The characters are so real they reminded me of old friends. It is a great historical novel and teaches many things about the psychology and consequences of colonialism. Rohinton Rocks.
Rating: 
Summary: More Mistry.....can't wait
Review: I am nearly to the end of this great book...so am savoring ever last morsel...This is one of those "sleepers"...if it had not been an Oprah choice...I may have missed it and it would have been my loss. It takes us to a world completely different than ours, and makes us thankful at the same time...it brings to my mind the "Bridge of San Luis Rey"....the wonderful involvement of the characters all brought together to mingle and intertwine..I was laughing outloud at Dina's brother's behavior when she goes to borrow money....it's not a "tea party" we are reading...all nice and proper but basic human nature...we're not reading a romance novel but a novel of real people in a real time....I really hate to see this book end....I think it is a terrific read and recommend it to all...
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly depressed
Review: I have just finished reading this book and had to go online to see what other's have written about this excellent novel. I am so surprised I could finish this book because I normally don't read something that is 600+ pages and secondly because I found it to be so depressing. However, in a strange way I am pleasantly depressed. You really start to realize what crybabies we can be sometimes and this book brings you right back down to reality and shows you what is important in life. The important things in life are friendship, love, and loyalty. The book slaps you in the face at the end when the one person who seems to have the most going for him decides to end his life while others less fortunate some how find a way to trudge through their harrowing existence. The book "A Fine Balance" is a must read in my opinion, it can almost be compared to a life changing experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Enthralling, but Ultimately Unsettling
Review: A fine balance, indeed. Rohinton Mistry works for a great deal of this epic-sized novel to construct a teetering balance of safety upon which his characters stand, much like the child pictured on the cover. His characters are real, they become people you know and trust, but by the end of the novel you feel almost as if you must abandon them because there is no way you can help them out of their precarious situation. I finished this book in two days (not only because it was gripping, but also because I'm a high school student on Christmas break), reading the last page somewhere around 1:30 in the morning. As I set the book down, I began to cry, which I was altogether not expecting. I wasn't crying for the characters -- I was crying for myself! My life is starting with all the promise that heralded the beginning of Dina Dalal's -- will I finish my days in a state such as hers, or worse, such as Maneck? The concept so unsettled me that I had a strong urge to wake my parents, something I haven't needed to do since I used to have nightmares when I was little. A Fine Balance is a solid and often enjoyable book, its most prominent fault being not a lack of familiarity with the characters, but rather too much familiarity. Its ability to enkindle within the reader a keen sense of despair, while admirable in one sense, ultimately leaves one wishing one had never read it. (Note: If you wish to read the book but avoid much of the discomfort, avoid the Epilogue.)
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely One Of My Favorite Books
Review: This book is a masterpiece and it took me by surprise. This was a book that I bought and read only because it was our book club choice and THANK GOODNESS for that or I would've never read this terrific piece about history and foreign culture. Wonderful book....one Oprah's very best picks.
The writing is beautiful and brings new understanding about India's struggles with poverty and caste systems. The bittersweet cultures and traditions are displayed through this story using 4 main characters and involving many background characters to make this book so realistic that as a reader, I felt like I actually visited this country and knew the characters. I didn't always like some of the characters but I could feel their sadness, their fright, their loss and sorrow, and even their desire to make it.
I recommend everyone, yes everyone to pick this book up and read it. It is long. It is, at times, depressing. It is, at times, cruel. And there are some scenes written about that are rather crude. But all of this is needed to tell the story of India during the 70s and the changes it was going through as well as the corrupt government. Here's a book to make an American feel the privileges our country gives us, or any truely free country.
This is a book that would be great for seniors in high school to read eventhough there are some explicit and dramatic scenes written about that don't paint a very pretty picture.
And the author's writing is tremendous. Flowing with the book's activities put together in a way that makes the reader very anxious to keep reading. The use of some Indian words did slow the reading a bit for me but the story would not have felt so authentic or have such an impact without them.
This is a gem of a book. A true "travel-read" into another time and culture. It has opened my eyes to a different time and place in history and I'm very thankful it was a book club choice and that I read this book. Highly, highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Fine Balance is a must read for everyone.
Review: The characters in this novel are imbedded in my heart and soul
forever. Even with unfamiliar names and phrases, Rhinton Mistry has the most amazing ability to put a story into words to make it real and at the same time make it so clear and easy to read. A Fine Balance reads very fast even at 600 plus pages. I could not put this book down nor stop thinking of it's characters. This is truly one of Oprah's best picks.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Written, Terribly Depressing
Review: Although the book is well written, and the story compels one to keep turning pages, the author's extremely pessimistic view of reality left me positively blue. All the characters meet horrible fates. A little dramatic relief, a little humor, some lighter moments, would have made this book easier to digest.
Rating:
Summary: Oprah overexaggerated this one!
Review: Being a religious Oprah viewer, I had seen many book club author dinners. Oprah and her guests are always ranting and raving about the book like it were the best thing since sliced bread. They would say such things as "It changed my life," or "It was so powerful I cried," and they always seemed to find meaning where meaning was not intended. So I decided that I would try this Oprah book and, if I liked it, I would start reading them all. I was very let-down by this book. It dragged on and on and on and on. The author has a great story within the pages, but there is so much fluff in-between that it bored me. I grudgingly finished the book and felt that I had wasted my time - hours and hours and hours of my time. The author could have said what he was saying in half as many words and then MAYBE it would have been worth reading. So, in conclusion, no more Oprah books for me but I still love her show and will always remain an avid reader and Amazon customer :)
Rating:
Summary: Can't Find The Words
Review: This is one of those books that you have to read. I literally hung onto every word, and cried when I came to the end because I didn't want to let go of the characters. The author is a genius at creating a world in which everyone can relate and gleam a message of deep hope and gratitude.
Rating:
Summary: every body should read this book
Review: I was very surprised at the book. How real the subject matter became. I wanted to keep reading but my mind would wonder to the ways this story paralleled so many other real events in the lives of families. The fight of the freed slaves to make a mark as human beings with intelligence and talents. The surpression of their schooling and ability to learn the basics of the American free culture. It also followed the story of the Jews trying to win their freedom and become people of dignity. How the people tried to
enter into the society and build a trade and be beaten down when it looked like they may achieve. The history of the Irish also has a familiar ring throughout this book. The story of ANGELA'S ASHES brought this to my mind
as I read. The plight of the poor today in our own country, the richest in the world, is left to fend for themselves in many areas. The brave boys of Africa who walked from the Sudan to Ethiopia to get away from the brutality of their homeland. In finishing the book there are so many more similarities to other life experiences. Why do we as people try so hard to be accepted and then treat others so poorly? We all need to become aware of the plights of others and do what we can to help our fellow man to be lifted up.
E.M.S.
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