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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Definitely Mistry's best book.
India is falling apart - castes, politics, economics, oppression and gender imbalances. Several women who are working together to keep body and mind together become friends and supports.
There's also some people up to no good (men people, actually).
India is falling apart - castes, politics, economics, oppression and gender imbalances. Several women who are working together to keep body and mind together become friends and supports.
There's also some people up to no good (men people, actually).
I don't know yet if there's such a thing as a perfect book, but this comes mighty close.
I'd say the only element that would turn some off of this book is some really punch to the gut events based on real history. No spoilers, but to me, they seemed incredible, impossible, close to fiction. But nope, stuff like what happens in this book really happened in India in the '70s and '80s. As far as I know, parts of it are still happening.
Else than that, the characters, the plot, the details, each character's story (and there are a lot of characters), had me totally invested from day one. This is the kind of book that I will recommend with accolades to other people. This is the kind of book that I will reread multiple times for the rest of my life. It's vast, beautiful, tragic, humorous, and all around wonderful. Go read it!
Oh, and if you can get your hands on this audiobook, I recommend it as the way to read it, because the narrator was also wonderful.
I'd say the only element that would turn some off of this book is some really punch to the gut events based on real history. No spoilers, but to me, they seemed incredible, impossible, close to fiction. But nope, stuff like what happens in this book really happened in India in the '70s and '80s. As far as I know, parts of it are still happening.
Else than that, the characters, the plot, the details, each character's story (and there are a lot of characters), had me totally invested from day one. This is the kind of book that I will recommend with accolades to other people. This is the kind of book that I will reread multiple times for the rest of my life. It's vast, beautiful, tragic, humorous, and all around wonderful. Go read it!
Oh, and if you can get your hands on this audiobook, I recommend it as the way to read it, because the narrator was also wonderful.
This is the second novel by Rohinton Mistry.
During the period from 1976 until 1984 of , the lives of the main four characters are entwined having The Emergency as a historical background.
Dina Dalal is a daughter of a medical doctor who died when she was twelve years old. Since her mother was enabled to take care of her, this task is given to her older brother Nusswan. Due to his abuses with the whole housework, Dina managed to escape from his household by marrying a chemist, Rustom Dalal. In order to fight against her destiny, Dina became a tailor by working for a company called Au Revoir Exports by being ready-made dresses in patterns. However, her poor eyesight make Dina hires two tailors, Ishvar and Omprakash.
In one of their way to Dina's house by train, these two tailors met Maneck Kohlah, a college student, who by coincidence is going to rent a room in Dina's flat.
The author explores the difference in caste and education among these main characters, giving us a vivid portrait of Bombay during this tumultuous period of time in India.
In spite of the heavy emotions that comes up during the narrative, Mistry wrote another great, poignant and magnificent masterpiece.
The cover of this book, Savita, is a photograph made by Dario Mitidieri, showing a two and a half years girl from North Bombay, who performs for Arab tourists near the Taj-Mahal Hotel. (From the Children of Bombay series, 1992).
An interesting link should be mentioned here: A Fine Balance - Let's talk about Bollywood!
4* Family Matters
5* A Fine Balance
TR Such a Long Journey
During the period from 1976 until 1984 of , the lives of the main four characters are entwined having The Emergency as a historical background.
Dina Dalal is a daughter of a medical doctor who died when she was twelve years old. Since her mother was enabled to take care of her, this task is given to her older brother Nusswan. Due to his abuses with the whole housework, Dina managed to escape from his household by marrying a chemist, Rustom Dalal. In order to fight against her destiny, Dina became a tailor by working for a company called Au Revoir Exports by being ready-made dresses in patterns. However, her poor eyesight make Dina hires two tailors, Ishvar and Omprakash.
In one of their way to Dina's house by train, these two tailors met Maneck Kohlah, a college student, who by coincidence is going to rent a room in Dina's flat.
The author explores the difference in caste and education among these main characters, giving us a vivid portrait of Bombay during this tumultuous period of time in India.
In spite of the heavy emotions that comes up during the narrative, Mistry wrote another great, poignant and magnificent masterpiece.
The cover of this book, Savita, is a photograph made by Dario Mitidieri, showing a two and a half years girl from North Bombay, who performs for Arab tourists near the Taj-Mahal Hotel. (From the Children of Bombay series, 1992).
An interesting link should be mentioned here: A Fine Balance - Let's talk about Bollywood!
4* Family Matters
5* A Fine Balance
TR Such a Long Journey
I really enjoyed this, although it took me a while to get through it. It wasn't one of those 'rattle through at a rate of knots' books. It was more one to savour. It's about four very different people who come to live together in a small flat in a big city in India in the mid-70s: Dina, a middle-aged widow striving for her independence from her overbearing brother, Maneck, a young university student, and Omprakash and Ishvar, two tailors from a low caste who have come to the city from their small village to earn money and escape persecution. It's wonderful to see how all these people relate to each other, moving from distrust into friendship and back again. It's populated with a host of wonderful vivid minor characters who pop in and out of the narrative. And it's very very sad. I'd definitely recommend it.
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is an outstanding book. I found it hard going, having to regularly put it down at each moment of injustice in the lives of the characters. There are many moments of injustice as India in the 1970s was a corrupt and unfair society. Lots of what went on in the book upset me, but it felt very important to read it and acknowledge the hardness of life and the way humans adapt to the difficult situations they find themselves in. Those with the hardest lives adapted more capably than those from a more privileged background. Although at times it was a grind to read, it was a grind that felt necessary. It felt truthful.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the best books I've read so far, it makes you feel so hopeful while you're reading it... but absolutely crushes you once you get to the ending.
This book is wonderful.
Its beautiful storytelling and vivid descriptions of a city I've known and loved for so many years makes this book one of my favorites by Indian authors. A fine Balance got me hooked to Indian contemporary fiction, and I haven't stopped since.
Its beautiful storytelling and vivid descriptions of a city I've known and loved for so many years makes this book one of my favorites by Indian authors. A fine Balance got me hooked to Indian contemporary fiction, and I haven't stopped since.
If there's one indian book you must read, it is this. The way Mistry weaves the intimate relationship among four people from completely different backgrounds and pasts is amazing. A strong woman, victim of patriarchy, an open minded boy from the hills, and two lower caste tailors happen to cross each others path. The path they tread together is the happiest part of their journey called life.
The book shows how similar we are despite all our social and cultural differences.
It's a heart wrenching story of different aspects of humanity.
The book shows how similar we are despite all our social and cultural differences.
It's a heart wrenching story of different aspects of humanity.