librarianonparade 's review for:

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

4.0

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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.