A Fine Balance

ruggles9876 recommended this 1 year ago

a tragedy. but a sweet story.

edenoverdose recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago

A very rich, complex book with multiple perspectives (in the caste system) of the cruelty, suffering and tragedy during the 1975 Indian Emergency. Mistry does a pretty good job on depicting the subaltern voice in this novel.

bastokyg recommended this 1 year, 9 months ago

Fine, fine book! One of my favorites. It was given to me by someone who knew I was going to India and thought I'd appreciate it more if I read this. I did. Funny that my Indian friends haven't read it.

cinti_dog recommended this 1 year, 9 months ago

Mistry exposes the brutal Indian Emergency with slices of everyday life through characters whose complexity he unfolds slowly and with a delicacy that shows his empathy and deep understanding.

jdelori recommended this 1 year, 9 months ago

A real slice of India with all of its cruelty, beauty, magic, and complexity

brotenberg recommended this 1 year, 10 months ago

Don't deny yourself the remarkable pleasure of this book.

arayner recommended this 1 year, 10 months ago

This is THE book on India, and one of the best books of the ten years, period. Dickensian in scope, masterful at directing the readers' sympathies, brutal to its characters but ultimately celebrating the spark of hope that keeps people going, this is a rich, vibrant book.

Bergdorfs recommended this 2 years ago

You know a book is good when you're so taken by the plot that your subway stop is missed.
And that's precisely what happened while reading Rohinton Mistry's sweeping narrative about India during the 1970s State of Internal Emergency. Vivid & full of hope, A Fine Balance provides an indelible perspective that previously was easy to forget.