A Fine Balance

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Summary: Simply Magnificent!!!
Review: How to praise this book? It is horrific, funny, depressing, uplifting, beautiful and shocking. It is readable without the cloying prose that has stilted many other books on India, and leaves the reader with a kinship and understanding of the characters that makes a novel truly remarkable. Please read this book, it will make you look at your own life in an entirely different way, and give you and understanding of another part of the world that you may never otherwise gain.

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Summary: Moving in many a way!
Review: I was reccomended this novel by a trusted friend and owner of a bookshop after adoring 'The God of Small Things'. I found that it was one of the truest, most beautiful accounts of the human psyche when facing hardship i have ever come across. I loved the characters, and literally found myself wishing for more after were finished. Whislt the ending was bleak and heart wrenching, it was the only way to mantain the consisentency seen throughout the entireity of the book. A wonderful book, much better than 'The God of Small things', but most comparitable.

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Summary: The triumph of the human spirit in the face of tragedy
Review: A captivating read, Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance recounts the life of four diverse individuals in a tumultuous India in the '70's. Their brief periods of happiness are interspersed with agonizing sorrow, hardship and mistreatment at the hands of a corrupt government and a heartless society. Yet it is these periods of peace that help them persevere and the reader is left feeling that even the smallest amount of joy can superceed the worst human failings. While some may praise or criticize the book's representation of the "real India," it is really a book about the strength of the human spirit. A very worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: Close to the best novel I've ever read --and I've read a lot
Review: Readers... don't miss the opportunity to read one of the most moving novels of this century... A Fine Balance is a delicate - funny - horrifing look at the hopes and despairs of individuals whose lives become interwoven through modern Indian events. I loved this book so much, I have given it to everyone for holiday presents.... do yourself a favor and read it.

Rating:
Summary: Exhilarating!!!!!!
Review: It's been almost 2 months since i read this book, but when i came across this chance to post a review, i couldn't hold back. No other book left me as breathless with grief and bliss as this book did. My only regret is not being able to read this book for the first time again, although i'm certain that my second read will be equally intoxicating. I thank Mr. Mistry for this exquisite gift he has bestowed on us.

Rating:
Summary: Well written, but not an all-encompassing look at India
Review: I liked "A Fine Balance" very much and thought it was extremely well written, but it is not, as many have said, indicative of what India is like. I doubt Mistry knows what a beggar's life in India is like and I think he does tend to romanticize the poor and downtrodden (a dangerous trap in a country like India). I have no problem with his statement on the human condition and agree with him that the Emergency by and large was a political failure. I do, however, object to his equation of poverty with helplessness (i.e. His development of Ishvar as a character lacks any sort of emotional depth and dimension other than his portrayal as a victim of caste injustices). Ishvar and Om are always helpless, but always reasonable, and rarely prone to pangs of anger, distrust, and heartfelt despair (...unlike Dina Dalal). This pitting of good vs. evil (and its inflections of rich vs. poor) is bordering on doing a disservice to the economic, political, and social diversity of India. On the whole, however, Mistry does have the storyteller's gift. This one is definitely worth a read.

Rating:
Summary: Intricately detailed, rich in culture and humanity
Review: This is an amazing book and quite an accomplishment. When finished, one truly feels that one better understands Indian culture. The way the characters and plot are drawn together is truly astounding. Don't be daunted by its thickness; in all likelyhood, you will not be able to put it down! 'You know what? I just don't know how to say enough good things about this book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've ever read
Review: I was reluctant to purchase this book at first. It came up as a recommended Amazon book, but I have felt that grappling with unfamiliar ethnic names can take away from one's enjoyment of the story. I was absolutely wrong. I wanted to give this book to everyone I knew so they could share it. I finished it several weeks ago and still find myself wondering what happened to the characters.

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Summary: One of the most powerful books I've ever read
Review: If you are one of those readers who complained that "Angela's Ashes" was too depressing, this is not the book for you. But if you are interested in the human condition in light of evil and suffering, this is an unforgettable book. One of the characters said that the only appropriate emotions toward people is wonder at their ability to endure and sorrow for them, and those are certainly the emotions the reader is left with. I was reminded both of Dickens (with an expose of social evils told by telling the stories of individuals, and a Dickensonian use of coincidence in paths crossing) and "Bastard out of Carolina" in the way the reader is drawn in emotionally to the characters and outraged at what happens to them. But the sheer gratuitous goodness and generosity of the some of the characters, all of whom are at some level of poverty, keeps one from complete despair in the face of evil and suffering.

Rating:
Summary: Distant but enjoyable prose...
Review: Distant but enjoyable prose combined with a subtle and fascinating discourse on India; fly-on-the-wall cultural insight that riveted me...