Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: India, a country I knew little about, haunts me since reading this book. The author captures on paper the feeling of India on every page. The sounds, the smells and the people stay with me well after the last page was turned. Unforgettable characters that evoke every type of emotion! Rohinton Mistry meshes the lives of four people of diverse backgrounds into a bond that lasts a lifetime. The in-depth look at a culture and a people that I knew little about has brought about an understanding that I previously lacked. Dina Dalal, widowed and determined to make it as an independent woman in a world where women have little value, becomes the unwilling glue that supports 3 other lives. Maneck Kohlah is a student, sent by his parents from his mountain village to attend school in the city. Ishvar Darji and his nephew Omprakash are tailors escaping the terror in their village by moving to the city to look for work. This unlikely group of people become dependent on each other out of necessity, their lives entangling to create the basis of the story. This book is written with much sadness as well as humour and has touched a place in my heart. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: A Fine Work Of Literature
Review: "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry was quite possibly one of the best books I've ever read. I belong to a book club and due to the very sensitive souls in our group, I was hesitant to bring this book to the table. The fact that it was highly recommended by someone I have a great deal of respect for gave the courage to put it on the agenda. To make a long story short, "A Fine Balance" was a hit, and I'm very happy that I was able to persuade our club to choose it. Everyone that participated in our discussion brought a different and fresh perspective to the table. The book explores the fine line between living and merely existing, loving and being in love, hate and ignorance, wanting and needing. In the face of irrefutable horror, the main characters emerge showing each persons vulnerabilities along with their incredible strength of character. When you cut through the cruelty of this book, you can't help but marvel at by the acts of kindness, bravery and generosity. Human nature with all it's ugliness and all it's beauty hits you in the face. It is a story about love, friendship, coping, betrayal, life, death and survival. My advice? Be strong. Brace yourself for a tragic epic. Read this book, and share it with your friends. Sincerely,
Jeanette Thums
Rating:
Summary: A Poignant Depiction of Government Abuses
Review: Despite a wealth of opportunities for suspenseful plot elements, not many novels written in English have been set in the period of the governmental abuses during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Emergency of 1975-77. In addition to "A Fine Balance," I'm aware only of Nayantara Sahgal's wonderfully written novel "Rich Like Us" (1985) and the framework story of my own more recent historical novel "India Treasures." A "Fine Balance" is a story of four ordinary, well-meaning Indians and their struggles to maintain their lives against the daunting difficulties created largely by a corrupt, misguided, self-serving government, greedy landlords, and arrogant, vindictive upper caste village rulers. Rohinton Mistry deftly draws readers into the world of 1970s India through the sights, sounds, and smells of daily life, and through characters I quickly came to care about deeply--Dina, a Bombay Parsi landlady, and her three male roomers: the college student Maneck and two tailors from a small village, Ishvar and his nephew Om. "A Fine Balance" illustrates how ill-conceived government policies, implemented by uncaring bureaucrats and police can wreak incredible damage on citizens who are doing their best to cope. The two tailors Ishvar and Om, being the poorest of the main characters, with few resources and connections, face the most horrific of the predicaments. They lose their home to bulldozers clearing the shantytowns; they are forcibly rounded up and taken far outside the city for a political rally; they are taken against their will to a hellish labor camp under the masquerade of a jobs program; and they are dragged into the sinister world of government-run family planning camps which carry out a quota system for sterilizations. Minstry writes beautifully, with imagery that is always perfectly attuned to the often-ironic situations he depicts. Although the novel is lengthy, and its world is sometimes capricious, drab, dismaying, and even macabre, most readers will likely be so involved with the characters and their plights that they will eagerly stay with the story to the end.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely amazing
Review: I am not sure how to convey how much I loved loved loved this book. It is everything a novel should be...comic, tragic, inspiring, depressing. I am a born-again Mistry fan. Originally, I was not too sure I would like a book based in India, as I am not familiar with the customs or language of that country. Do not let that scare you away from this book. While the story is uniquely Indian, it is also universally human. The plot is basically about two tailors from the countryside who go to the city to make their fortune. The characters they meet along the way are in turns vibrant and bizarre. As you may have already read in other reviews, Mistry is reminiscent of Charles Dickens. At the same time, you don't have to be a Dickens fan to enjoy this novel; there are significant differences between the two authors: For one thing, Mistry inserts more tragedy into his narrative. This book can absolutely break your heart as you read it; the characters are so alive and personal that as they go through a personal hell, you are along for the ride every step of the way. There are scenes so strange and so well-described (such as the uncle twirling his sad niece and nephew on poles above his head to make money) that your chest hurts with empathy for the plight they find themselves in. Before I scare you away with the tragic aspects of this book, "A Fine Balance" can also touch your heart; the simple kindnesses that people manage to convey against all odds are staggering in type, if not in scope. While ultimately pessimistic, Mistry keeps his characters honest and full enough to keep the reader having fun. Mistry also does an excellent job conveying the political turmoil India was experiencing at the time. Indira Ghandi's government is seen bulldozing tenemant housing to improve the physical appearance of the country at the expense of the poor; bussing in homeless and indigent citizens to cheer at her rallies for a few measly bucks, in the end never received. In such a country, it is no wonder that the characters have to fight for everything the want tooth and nail. I also read "Such a Long Journey" by Mistry and did not like it so well. I am so glad I gave Mistry another chance; this novel more than redeems him as one of the greatest Indian authors alive.
Rating:
Summary: Everything Ends Badly
Review: The first time I read Maneck's words in the novel, that "everything ends badly," I still refused to believe the author would not eventually redeem the story, redeem the characters, somehow end it on a positive note, a true Hollywood happy ending. The lack of an uplifting ending stands in contrast, however, to the resigned perseverance of its characters. I wondered many times what Mistry was trying to say in bringing tragedy after crushing tragedy on his characters--all but the hair collector-murderer, who ended up better off than everyone. The book is almost ridiculous in its relentless parade of tragedy. I felt strongly a sense of desperation about the lives of the characters. Their lives were only a thread's width away from destruction, they lived a fine balance between survival and despair. If Mistry's challenge was to make the reader feel that sense of desperation, anguish and despair, he succeeded brilliantly. The book is most intriguing during its descriptions of squalor. When the story focuses on the middle class (ie Maneck's family), I was bored, and then I found myself wondering why. Perhaps this was Mistry's intention - to make the reader aware of the American facination with misfortune and tragedy. This book is not only a commentary about Indian culture and history, it is a commentary about modern American culture as well, via the response it evoke from its American readers.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book!!
Review: I think it is one of the best books I have read so far. Beautifully written, it made feel really part of the story and I was really sad when it ended. It is true the plot is very sad, but the wonderful thing about it is that it shows humanity in such a powerful way!
Rating:
Summary: I have renewed faith in modern authors
Review: After the glut of poorly-written chicklit flooding the literary market, reading Mistry's work was an eye-opening experience. It was like not knowing just how thirsty you are until you finally drink a glass of water. I will never go back to Bridget Jones and her ilk after seeing what writers like Mistry have to offer. Mistry weaves the tale of an eclectic crew in 1975 India -- Ishvar and Om, the uncle-nephew tailoring team, Dina Dalal, the woman who hires them to sew dresses for her private business, and Maneck, her schoolfriend's son who rents a room from her while studying. Mistry backtracks and paints the life story of each of these three parties and how they came to this point in time when they all meet. After that, he depicts a full story of their time together for the next year. "Stories of suffering are no fun when you are the main characters", declares Ishvar. As low-caste people who have bettered themselves by learning to be tailors, he and Om are no strangers to miserable situations. Dina struggles to maintain a marked line between employee and boss, and is aggravated that Maneck befriends the tailors. He and Om are the same age but of different classes. Maneck has compassion for his fellow man in a world where there is not enough to go around. While she can understand that, Dina, who was widowed at a young age, must run the business or lose her independence, having to return to her brother's home. Around these main four characters are many peripheral characters who make up all the color, glory and sadness of 1975 India. This is the reality of the world on the written page, what is notably missing in all that chicklit -- that bad things can happen to good people, the universe does not always right itself, that decent hardworking people can be torn apart -- sometimes literally -- on a whim. As a lady on the elevator said when she saw I had this book, "That is the best book I have read in the last 10 years!" I thoroughly agree.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: Amazing, life altering book. Trying not to sound terribly cliche, but my views on everyday life have been completely altered because of this book! Highly recommended to anyone interested in a humanistic representation of yin yang.
Rating:
Summary: Positve human interactions despite wretched circumstances
Review: This is definitely among the most absorbing books ever written by anyone. I never noticed what page I was on until 457! In retrospect, the "message" that sticks with me is that human interactions can be warm and positive no matter what the physical conditions or level of affluence one is immersed in. Moreover, these interactions are the most important and valuable aspect of human existence. Without these interactions the soul becomes bankrupt. Witness the only joyous parts of Aunt Dina's later life and the ultimate outcome of Maneck and the tailors. I do not agree with objections to the ending. I found the book perfectly written and hope to forget it quickly so I can read it again as soon as possible.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece!!
Review: This is the second book I read by Rohinton Mistry - the first being Family Matters, on a english independent study novel I had to do in grade 12 english. I liked it a lot and my english teacher recommended me to read this one. But I never imagined this book is so AWESOME. The story, the character, the accident...all so moving and unforgetful. I feared it will keep rambling on and on since it's more than 700 pages, but there are not even one page wasted. The story begins by telling each of the three groups of people who are the protagonist of the novel in three great stories: about their past, their struggles and their unfortunate lives. Then they met. And their unbelievable fate bond them together, forcing them to learn from each other and discover others true personalities. The characters are so well portrayed that you can always from a movie like story as you read along. But the best part is the story. There's nothing like it, it will blow anybody away. Try to make it little spoilers as possible, I'll only state some of the major strengths of the novel: these are the ones that make this novel stands higher than others. First is the background of the story. Set in a political turmoil, it's unbelievable to many North American readers like me how the heck this kind government and society really exists. And all of them is real. Set in 1970s, the Indian government dclared an "emergency", beating people at will, uses any excuse to rob money from the ordinary people. People were sent as slaves, homeless people beaten by police again and again, castes conflicts often got out of control and killed many innocent people...all of them is so horrible, but so real as well. Are these four protagonist of the novel got inloved in these? Oh yes, definitely. Second is the common theme that exists in all Rohinton's novels: the human spirit and tolerance and love for all others. It's amazing how many difficult circumstances these character has to go through, yet it's their human quality and great hearts that helped them to overcome tham again and again. After reading this novel, I often felt that all the good human personalities are still left in us, and it's a wonder to see how much this world would improve if we just help each other, love each other and learn to tolerate others and respect their differences. But this novel is not the kind of novel that tries to teach you the basic value of human life in a dull way, but is integrated into the storyline, waiting for you to discover. To sum it up, this novel is one of the best, probably the best novel I eer read. It's also has deep levels too, to keep spoilers free I'll just say the ending may seems sad and dissapointing for the people who hate tragedy, but once you think it over and tie all the major chapter headings and quotations together, it not only makes perfect sense, but also makes you to see this novel in a completely different level. This novel is suitable to all people above 14, whether you like this kind of novel or not. It make me cry at the ending, and I almost never cried for a novel, save the Return of the King. Read it, you wont regret it. It's just simply flawless. Best ever.
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