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A review by ladymahesh
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
4.0
This brought out a lot of emotions for me. I can’t count the number of times I read, paused, tried to abandon it only to pick it up again and repeat the cycle. To me, this book wasn’t particularly about the 1975 Emergency in India which is the premise of the story. This book is quintessentially about how the poor, destitute and those of a lower caste are treated. What I took away from the book in the end is this – no matter which social class the characters belonged to, they all wanted the same thing – to be accepted, respected and to have the same opportunities. It’s surprising how the social classes appear to be superficially “different” but are, in many aspects very much alike.
Extremely descriptive and blunt about the realities of life in 1975 India, I learnt a lot about caste, especially the “untouchables” and ways they were oppressed. The oppression they faced not only chipped away at their spirits little by little but in turn, it seeped into their culture and psyche adversely. There are moments in the book where one class of untouchables oppressed another class of untouchables in the same way the higher or superior castes oppressed the ones below them. Also, it was shocking to me that in 1975, basic human necessities such as food, shelter, education and clothing were so scarce to those that were branded as “low caste” that the higher caste went around treating those below them so poorly, all in the effort to “protect” their social status among their own. It was emotional and at many times, downright disgusting, literally and metaphorically.
Indian born Canadian writer Rohinton Mistry has been shortlisted for The Booker prize three times and it’s no wonder why. Beautiful writing, pacing and phenomenal storytelling. This is not an easy book to read but so insightful because Mistry doesn’t sugar coat anything here. The poverty, the struggles of Indian women especially widows, female children and the plight of the Muslim minorities are laid out bear in this novel. The only thing I wished more for, was a little hope or light at the end of the tunnel but then again, that would defeat the purpose of what Mistry was trying to convey – which is, that the reality didn’t allow for much hope especially for certain classes of people in those days.
I enjoyed this book (with a heavy heart) although it was quite a task to finish all 614 pages of it. This is truly a beautiful tale, and I dare say in many ways, sadly relevant today, 45 years after. It makes one think about the consequences of class and segregation, how we look at another person from a different culture or way of life, how much we still need to change and to what extent it can go based on false perceptions. This book is just so full of important themes for a great, meaningful discussion about race – the human race.
Extremely descriptive and blunt about the realities of life in 1975 India, I learnt a lot about caste, especially the “untouchables” and ways they were oppressed. The oppression they faced not only chipped away at their spirits little by little but in turn, it seeped into their culture and psyche adversely. There are moments in the book where one class of untouchables oppressed another class of untouchables in the same way the higher or superior castes oppressed the ones below them. Also, it was shocking to me that in 1975, basic human necessities such as food, shelter, education and clothing were so scarce to those that were branded as “low caste” that the higher caste went around treating those below them so poorly, all in the effort to “protect” their social status among their own. It was emotional and at many times, downright disgusting, literally and metaphorically.
Indian born Canadian writer Rohinton Mistry has been shortlisted for The Booker prize three times and it’s no wonder why. Beautiful writing, pacing and phenomenal storytelling. This is not an easy book to read but so insightful because Mistry doesn’t sugar coat anything here. The poverty, the struggles of Indian women especially widows, female children and the plight of the Muslim minorities are laid out bear in this novel. The only thing I wished more for, was a little hope or light at the end of the tunnel but then again, that would defeat the purpose of what Mistry was trying to convey – which is, that the reality didn’t allow for much hope especially for certain classes of people in those days.
I enjoyed this book (with a heavy heart) although it was quite a task to finish all 614 pages of it. This is truly a beautiful tale, and I dare say in many ways, sadly relevant today, 45 years after. It makes one think about the consequences of class and segregation, how we look at another person from a different culture or way of life, how much we still need to change and to what extent it can go based on false perceptions. This book is just so full of important themes for a great, meaningful discussion about race – the human race.