Rating: 
Summary: More realism than magic: grim truths and comical details.
Review:
The fist book I read by Mistry was four years back, 'Such a Long Journey". It was set during India-Pakistan partition and was about the hopes and miseries of a parsi family and their friends. I remember a particular scene from the book very vividly after all these years. "The owner had Gods and Goddesses painted outside his garden wall to stop men from urinating there." - an acute description of the habits of the men folk in my country (still prevalent in the small towns and the poorer sections of big cities) and our reverence to Gods!
I knew for sure that the present book would leave me disturbed like the last time. But like a moth who get attracted to fire I was once again subjecting myself to Mistry's ruthless(alas, true) descriptions of stonings, rape, lynching, torture, religious persecution and dowry suicides, as well as economic exploitation and genocidal solutions for the poor.
Set in India during Mrs Gandhi's 1975 state of
emergency, A Fine Balance opens with a train so
overloaded that "the bulge of humans hanging out
of the doorway distended perilously, like a soap
bubble at its limit". On board are two tailors,
Ishvar and Omprakash, and a student named
Maneck; they find they are all bound for the same
address the Bombay flat of a widow named Dina
Dalal, who is going to take Maneck as a lodger and set the tailors to work. The book follows the four of them through difficult times, although the times gone by have been nearly as bad; particularly for the tailors, who are Untouchables.
Mistry is not afraid, nay, he is actually good at the art, to pile on the misery, the inhumanity of Indian to Indian. In my opinion the misery is just one - poverty, the rest are merely, various manifestations. Indians, who like me are weeping under the load of these truths, weep a little more; but the changes happen at a snail's pace, unaffected by this piece of literature.
"There is always hope," says one
character, "hope to balance our despair. Or we
would be lost." But it is a very fine balance indeed.
The Balzac epigraph accuses the reader: "after you
have read this story of great misfortunes, you will no
doubt dine well". And you might, but there is plenty
here to take the edge off your appetite.
Rating:
Summary: Show Me The Great Novel!
Review: This book is peerless. I hadn't picked up a novel in quite
sometime. I just haven't had the time. I had heard about
this book and I thought I would give it a chance. I read
the book in 2 days! My wife is still upset with me
because I was staying late into the night. This book is a must read! The characters in this book are
remarkable and will stayin my mind for a long time to come!
I can't wait till the movie!!
Kudos to Mr. Mistry for fine piece of work! I am going to
read his other books.
Rating:
Summary: If you only read one book this year...
Review: What can I add to the above reviews...? It's 4am and I just finished reading this book. I'm done laughing, pondering and crying for a while, but this book will remain indelibly marked on my view of the world I live in. Mistry must be commended on this magnificent work that has leapt near the top of my favorite book list in my humble abode (which is rapidly growing to resemble a library rather than a home).
This is truly a classic work.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book
Review: After trying unsuccesfully to read Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh, which I found pretentious and confusing, I was utterly absorbed in this wonderful story.
I literally could not put this book down. The characters are so engaging and I found myself hanging on every sentence.
That the author can sit in his suburban Toronto house and evoke his homeland is a marvel of writing. The language is so simple and evocative and his humanity shines through every page.
This is a great Indian novel and a must read
Rating:
Summary: A heart rending study of life among lower caste Indians.
Review: The author, an Indian, spins a realistic story about the interactions of people trying to make their livings and get by in a fictional Indian city during the rule of Indira Ghandi. I have never read anything that could help an American understand so well the frustrations and ongoing humiliations attendant to survival among the lower castes of India. However, it is also a testiment to humanity that, even while doing whatever necessary to survive, strangers could come together to create a loving family unit supportive of each member's needs. The ending will break your heart
Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary story about common people
Review: A fine balance is one of the finest books I have ever read. With a number of main characters, Mistry does not lose his way for one paragraph, blending their stories together into a beautiful creation. It is probably the only book that ever brought tears to my eyes
Rating:
Summary: A touching, memorable book.
Review: After months spent reading it, last night I finished this 600 page novel, which was shortlisted for the 1996 Booker prize, and much to my surprise, I found myself crying at the conclusion of this story. I can't remember the last time I actually cried reading a book. I can't say I enjoyed all of this novel, because some of what it describes is upsetting and difficult to read, but having now finished it I can say it is a very touching book, and very memorable. It tells the story of four poor individuals in India in the 1970's, whose lives become intertwined. The writing style is not snazzy, rather it is very clear and simple. I don't want to give away the plot, but the book's theme is that there is a fine balance between hope and despair. The course of this theme is so well navigated throughout the book, all the way through to the very last page, that the ideas, I'm sure, will stay imprinted on me for a very long time
Rating:
Summary: Truly magnificent
Review: A masterpiece. Few modern books have moved me as this wonderful novel did. I wholeheartedly agree with reviewers who characterize Mistry's novel to those of Balzac and Tolstoy. Do read this book
Rating:
Summary: Mistry refuses to let the words take over a human tale.
Review: India, so immediate, so unneedful of explitives. The writer refuses to take over the story which refuses to be put down. Honest, recounting of a tapistry letting the colors speak while hiding the strong even stitches
Rating:
Summary: A simply perfect novel
Review: It's not often that I read a book of this length without wondering at some point, why didn't the author cut it. There isn't a sentence, a scene, a character, that doesn't belong in this novel. I lived with these characters and when I came to the end of this novel I couldn't believe I wasn't going to be able to read more about them. This book is one of the most finely wrought novels I've ever come across. I didn't want it to end, it was all too real, all too moving, all too funny for me to accept that it was over
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