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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
“...you have to use your failures as stepping stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair. In the end it’s all a question of balance.”
As this quote suggests for life , the story in the book also maintained that fine balance between hope and despair , and that’s what made me go on with it.
It is a heart wrenching story of 4 protagonists amidst the 1975 state of emergency . All of them completely unrelated yet connected through a need of accommodation in an unnamed city. The narration also goes back to each of their lives, each more tragic and grim than the other. The story deals with the tyranny of caste system and obligations of social norms. The author made me live through the Emergency, through his characters , which was just a word for me earlier, an event in the history. When it came alive in the book ,it made me sad, depressed, angry and also very thankful for the privileged life I have lived.
Reading this book just after reading the Biography of Indira Gandhi , made it even more unsettling for me. The drastic measures in those times ,affected lives and dreams and hopes of so many. I could not help but just compare the privileged life of Indira Gandhi and the people who suffered because of her radical ideas and measures.
I read through the story , just hoping for a beautiful perfect end which does not happen, but In retrospect, I am thankful that it dint, otherwise it would not have stirred up so many emotions in me as it did .The story and the narration is ruthless , harsh and depressing, held together by the humanity and compassion of the characters .
Read it for a better understanding of life and the history of India, which is beyond the textbook explanations.
PS: The book might trigger unsettling emptions if you have struggled through death of a loved one, depression and suicide or affected by the caste system of the country.
As this quote suggests for life , the story in the book also maintained that fine balance between hope and despair , and that’s what made me go on with it.
It is a heart wrenching story of 4 protagonists amidst the 1975 state of emergency . All of them completely unrelated yet connected through a need of accommodation in an unnamed city. The narration also goes back to each of their lives, each more tragic and grim than the other. The story deals with the tyranny of caste system and obligations of social norms. The author made me live through the Emergency, through his characters , which was just a word for me earlier, an event in the history. When it came alive in the book ,it made me sad, depressed, angry and also very thankful for the privileged life I have lived.
Reading this book just after reading the Biography of Indira Gandhi , made it even more unsettling for me. The drastic measures in those times ,affected lives and dreams and hopes of so many. I could not help but just compare the privileged life of Indira Gandhi and the people who suffered because of her radical ideas and measures.
I read through the story , just hoping for a beautiful perfect end which does not happen, but In retrospect, I am thankful that it dint, otherwise it would not have stirred up so many emotions in me as it did .The story and the narration is ruthless , harsh and depressing, held together by the humanity and compassion of the characters .
Read it for a better understanding of life and the history of India, which is beyond the textbook explanations.
PS: The book might trigger unsettling emptions if you have struggled through death of a loved one, depression and suicide or affected by the caste system of the country.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
A brilliantly written book that looks at the hard life lived by so many around the world. Horribly bleak, but excellent nonetheless.
A view of India from the bottom. The title comes from a quote from one of the characters. "Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping-stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair." Other times, as in this book, failures are stepping stones right off the proverbial cliff.
It's a well written book, a window on the caste system and political corruption during the years when Indira Ghandi had declared a state of Emergency. The book is mis-titled though, as there's no redemption or hope in it. Oy, it's depressing. Well at least the 3/4 of it are depressing. Then it starts to get a little comical, a bit like Monty Python, I wondered when the cart was going to roll through calling "Bring out your dead!"
It's a well written book, a window on the caste system and political corruption during the years when Indira Ghandi had declared a state of Emergency. The book is mis-titled though, as there's no redemption or hope in it. Oy, it's depressing. Well at least the 3/4 of it are depressing. Then it starts to get a little comical, a bit like Monty Python, I wondered when the cart was going to roll through calling "Bring out your dead!"
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
This book is not for the faint of heart. To begin with, it's ginormous. Six-hundred pages as a paperback with tiny print. That alone is intimidating. Add onto it the fact that it deals with grotesque subjects like parasites, torture, rape, animal killing, mutilation, amputation, castration, poverty, murder etc. and you have a book that really takes some fortitude to read. And on top of that, it's a very tragic story...one that happens to be based on realities of a country suffering from extreme levels of poverty and corruption. The helplessness the reader feels in seeing the plight of the four protagonists is heartwrenching.
Every description I read describes Mistry as an Indian Dickens. And while it's true he covers the problems of the country quite well, I think he lacks the humor and lightness that Dickens often managed to somehow include.
I advise anyone picking up this novel to proceed with caution. It's beautifully written and tells many fascinating stories, but it took me a full week to get through just because I regularly needed breaks before starting up again.
I've never read anything quite like this, and I don't know that I will ever read anything that comes close in my lifetime. It's a truly incredible read, and if not for how rotten I felt at the end of it I might have added it to my favorites shelf. As it is, I'm sure it's a book I'll be thinking about for years to come.
Every description I read describes Mistry as an Indian Dickens. And while it's true he covers the problems of the country quite well, I think he lacks the humor and lightness that Dickens often managed to somehow include.
I advise anyone picking up this novel to proceed with caution. It's beautifully written and tells many fascinating stories, but it took me a full week to get through just because I regularly needed breaks before starting up again.
I've never read anything quite like this, and I don't know that I will ever read anything that comes close in my lifetime. It's a truly incredible read, and if not for how rotten I felt at the end of it I might have added it to my favorites shelf. As it is, I'm sure it's a book I'll be thinking about for years to come.
If you are in the mood to travel to India for a while, I would recommend "A Fine Balance" by Mistry, a thoroughly depressing yet hopeful work about 4 different people who have to deal with very challenging circumstances during the 70s State of Emergency. Historical fiction that teaches you much, about culture, love, and what makes a family. Then follow it with Beyond the Beautiful Forevers, by Boo, a non-fiction work (written like fiction, in a journalistic style) about the people living in a slum in Mumbai where, only a few years ago, a woman set herself on fire to punish her neighbors. The juxtaposition of the two books proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same. (I read them in reverse order, but I would recommend them chronologically.)
"A Fine Balance" is profound, and if it weren't so long, would make an excellent book group book. I was frustrated with the ending, but I know I am supposed to think about what happiness and acceptance means. The one thing I did not like were the details of some of the suffering... the author had already made his point several times, no need to include that when someone vomited, the dogs ate it.
"A Fine Balance" is profound, and if it weren't so long, would make an excellent book group book. I was frustrated with the ending, but I know I am supposed to think about what happiness and acceptance means. The one thing I did not like were the details of some of the suffering... the author had already made his point several times, no need to include that when someone vomited, the dogs ate it.
I would cry, but then I would never stop.
I loved how this book weaved seamlessly though each chapter, picking up different travelers and connecting the characters. I became so engulfed in the players, I just had to know what happened next...page after page.
the story gives an indepth and wonderful view of India...the warts and the beauty alike.
Dont read it. I mean, do read it, but understand one thing. The characters will haunt you.
I loved how this book weaved seamlessly though each chapter, picking up different travelers and connecting the characters. I became so engulfed in the players, I just had to know what happened next...page after page.
the story gives an indepth and wonderful view of India...the warts and the beauty alike.
Dont read it. I mean, do read it, but understand one thing. The characters will haunt you.
I read this book because I love being immersed in other cultures or time periods vastly different than my own. I definitely experienced both with this book, though I have to say it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Sometimes reading a truly sad tale can be a cathartic experience that momentarily severs one from their trials and stresses and provides some worldly enlightenment or reverent reflection about important events. This novel didn’t do that for me. It simply dumped a pile of misery in my lap and walked away without explanation. That said, the writing is excellent and the main characters are wonderfully developed. It will transport you to 1970s India in the most brutal of ways. I am glad that I read this book, I just felt it was too heavy a dose of wretched sadness when it didn’t have to be that way.