Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This is without a doubt one of the most memorable books I have ever read. Mistry skillfully intertwines the lives of the four main characters - their stories are filled with countless tragedies and setbacks, which, as in real life, occur without any warning. For Ishvar and Om, the balance of hope vs. despair is virtually always tilted toward the latter. It is perhaps as a result of this that they persevere and find occasional happiness in their final condition.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding a complex South Asia
Review: This is an outstanding book for those from the western hemisphere to read if they wish to begin to understand India and a bit about South Asia. It follows the lives of a variety of people from various castes and ethnic backgrounds as circumstances bring them together. Beautifully written and engaging, it is helps us "westerners" to scratch a little below the surface and, hopefully, come to understand a bit more about the nuances and difficulties people in South Asia face. If any good is to come from the events of 9/11, it will be that we will seek to become more knowledgeable about other parts of the world.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: It was with some trepidation that I read this book, as I have frequently found Indian novels to be very heavy going and full of doom and gloom, but it was recommended by someone with very good taste, and I thought I'd take the plunge. I am very glad I did - it is the finest novel of the Indian sub-continent that I have encountered.The lives of the main characters are certainly not easy, so I guess I must confess that there is a fair share of the aforementioned doom and gloom. But our heroes are so well drawn, so fully rounded and so full of adventure and thirst for whatever life throws at them (and it throws plenty), that you get completely sucked into the complexities of their existences. Rohinton Mistry is a fine, talented writer. The prose flows easily, and India in all of its richness and dire poverty is there before you. It is quite an experience, not always a comfortable one, sometimes very entertaining, and all in all one I thoroughly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: My review of A Fine Balance
Review: I loved reading this book. It was an eye opener for me, because I did not know of the atrocities that took place in India. Although the characters in this book are fictional, the events described in the book are not. Indian people are punished and killed for simply exercising their rights every human being is entitled to. Children are beaten in this book just because they desire an education. People are tortured and hung simply because they want to participate in the voting process. Young people are forced to endure vasectomies in order to control the population. All the characters in this work hard in the midst of all this travesty. The main character is Dina who is denied a complete education at the age of 12 by her brother after her parents pass away. She unfortunately becomes a widow at the age of 24. She is undaunted by her lot in life, because she eventually learns how to sew and make clothes. Ishvar and Om are two tailors employed by Dina. They are from a caste of the population that work as cobblers that make leather products. They receive the opportunity to learn a new skill and become tailors. They want nothing more than to make enough money to return to their village. Maneck is a college student taken in as a boarder by Dina to supplement her income. What is most interesting about this book is tht all of these characters are so mentally tough despite the harsh environment. A Fine Balance is compelling reading. I enjoyed reading and learning about the history and culture of India so much.
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful book.
Review: When I first saw that Oprah had picked this book, I was worried it would be another sad Oprah type book. But I was very wrong. This book had me in the first 20 pages and kept me going and wanting to read much more. The character's in this book were very real at times I felt like I was there with them. I loved how you got to know each of them so well and what they had happen to them. Overall this book was on of the best I have read in years. It captivated me from the start all the way to end, making me want to give up the book because I had grown attached to the characters and wanted to know so much more about them.
Rating:
Summary: I will remember this story forever
Review: Minstry weaves the most beautiful and melancholy web of love in this diamond of a book. It lost the Booker a few years ago to The God of Small Things, which is also a good book, but I can't believe it won out over this. I was assigned this book for a modern Indian Lit. class, it was the last book of the semester and by far the best. I was haunted by it, to this day I can still imagine the scenes, the characters as if they were real and fresh. This book broke my heart, but only because its story is powerful. If you think you know what love, friendship and devotion mean, you should read this book and be amazed at what it can truly be.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable and powerful
Review: I read A Fine Balance 4 or 5 years ago and have recommended it to many people. It has a dark Dickensian quality that weighs on my heart and makes this book unforgettable. The characters are vivid and well drawn, and their plight is both horrific and moving. Mistry has made human faces that tell the story behind the political events of this period. As with Beloved by Toni Morrison, the effect of A Fine Balance is to enrich and sear you forever.
Rating:
Summary: Absolute favorite!
Review: I read this book just after it was released in hard cover and immediately fell in love with it. It is my favorite novel. Definitely a must read!
Rating:
Summary: Fine indeed
Review: Now, this is a book that really deserves the extra attention that apparently comes along with Oprah certification. The epigram is a line from Balzac, and that's an excellent tipoff: The same vivid characters and (at times relentless) social realism that mark Balzac's finer novels are definitely in evidence here. In this case the setting is India (especially Bombay) during the grim and turbulent "Emergency" period in the 1970s. Mistry draws a handful of characters (rural and urban) from different social classes, and slowly pulls their stories together -- often in rather surprising ways. It's an extremely cinematic book, filled with vivid, often searing imagery. As grim as the story often is, Mistry maintains a deft and humorous touch. It's true that the book offers a learning experience about India, but mostly it's just a great story, and it will work as well for readers who know the country as those who don't. But if you insist on happy endings, well, this may not be for you.
Rating:
Summary: Congratulations, Oprah
Review: Thank you for selecting one of my most memorable reads! I have recommended "A Fine Balance" to every one of my friends who are serious readers, but never imagined that Oprah would agree with my assessment. Yes, the story is heartbreaking; other reviewers have provided good summaries. Mistry's Dickens-like details of the daily lives of the 4 main characters makes them and their circumstances realistic and sympathetic. I was stunned by the "richness" of their impoverished, abused lives, and by the writer's talent.
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