Book Recommendations
A Fine Balance
By Rohinton Mistry
Fiction, General, Historical, Family Life, Urban & Street Lit | 603 pages
4 recommendations
The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed Indian city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency. The days that follow bring new forms of degradation and misery to vie with resilience and stubborn hope in the daily lives of the people, four of whom are compelled by a housing shortage to share one cramped apartment. With no common background and only the most impersonal threads of common need, these four find their lives becoming unexpectedly but inextricably entwined, their growing trust, humor, and affectionate interdependence establishing a bulwark against the hardships and torturous machinations of daily life under the Emergency, holding them together, finally, for both better and worse.
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Jane McKiernan
"A beautifully written book, full of humour, but at the same time heart wrenching. I grew to love the characters as if I knew them. And I was sad to let them go.
Although there isn’t a named city, I could imagine any number of places that I’ve visited in India, a place that I love. Every scene was evocative of the people I met and observed across this vast country.
It’s a rich saga of life in India during 1970s when there was much political upheaval and unrest. Educational as well as entertaining.
Writing this short passage has made me realise that I want to read it again. So maybe I need to plan my next trip and allow myself the luxury of inhabiting Mistry’s story again."
Although there isn’t a named city, I could imagine any number of places that I’ve visited in India, a place that I love. Every scene was evocative of the people I met and observed across this vast country.
It’s a rich saga of life in India during 1970s when there was much political upheaval and unrest. Educational as well as entertaining.
Writing this short passage has made me realise that I want to read it again. So maybe I need to plan my next trip and allow myself the luxury of inhabiting Mistry’s story again."
Jennifer Dixon
"A powerful tale, the life and times of four individuals separated by caste and class who end up living together during the political upheaval in the seventies.
Set in "an unidentified city" in India, initially in 1975 and later in 1984 during the turmoil of The Emergency, the book focuses on four characters from varied backgrounds – Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, his nephew Omprakash Darji, and the young student Maneck Kohlah – who come together and develop a bond."
Set in "an unidentified city" in India, initially in 1975 and later in 1984 during the turmoil of The Emergency, the book focuses on four characters from varied backgrounds – Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, his nephew Omprakash Darji, and the young student Maneck Kohlah – who come together and develop a bond."
Andrew Kelly
"A beautiful story about a small group of poor people living on the edge, hence the title. You really care about these people and hope they succeed."
Laura Dewar
"The most absorbing and visceral book about / set in India that I have read. It's about four individuals of different class and caste that end up brought together. It's a big read, packed with emotion, and the writing is beautiful and poetic. I was completely captured by it, and must read it again!"
