A Fine Balance

By: Rohinton Mistry

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 24 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism, of India.

The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers—a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village—will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.

As the characters move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, A Fine Balance creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state.

©1995 Rohinton Mistry (P)2001 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

1997, IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Short-listed

2011, Neustadt International Prize for Literature, Winner

"Astonishing. . . . A rich and varied spectacle, full of wisdom and laughter and the touches of the unexpectedly familiar through which literature illuminates life." --Wall Street Journal

"Monumental. . . . Few have caught the real sorrow and inexplicable strength of India, the unaccountable crookedness and sweetness, as well as Mistry." --Pico Iyer, Time

"Those who continue to harp on the decline of the novel . . . ought to consider Rohinton Mistry. He needs no infusion of magic realism to vivify the real. The real world, through his eyes, is magical." --The New York Times

Do not miss this one

Started a bit slow but WOW! Sucks you in and drives home the point. You get to know interesting people and you care what happens to them. Well written and well narrated. A bit of a downer but a terrific story.

Excellent Book

This book will make you realize how tragic life can be for the extremely poor in India.. how they suffered so much at the hands of the upper class but yet were still able to keep their dignity and zest for life.. It will make you want to cry and laugh.. I throughly enjoyed this book and did not want it to end..

Beautifully difficult

This author might be the Charles Dickens of India. I found this book difficult to listen to at times... Painful. But it was beautifully written and read! I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good long novel they can sink their teeth into.

Read this if you think your life is rough

This might be the most tragic, heart-wrenching, and yet one of the best books I've ever read. This book is grapes of wrath on steroids. For all the tragedy, this book will inspire you with its struggle and make you realize how important friendships and family are in your life. I disagree with those who were unhappy with the ending. It isn't the Count of Monte Cristo, and some of the more villainous characters never get what they've got coming to them, but I actually love how the author chose to leave things. If you know nothing of India and are interested, this is an interesting look into the politics and culture of that nation.

a beautiful life

I agree with the other reviewers. This is a beautiful and devistating book. I can't imagine the will required to persist in such a land. The characters are so well described and so well read. I was sorry to finish but I didn't think that I could stand to hear much more.

Gut wrenching.

Great Novel. Had me invested from the get go. Excellent writing by Rohinton Mistry. He makes you deeply empathize with his characters.

A Must Read

This was a devastating and beautiful book--extremely well done. Worth the energy and emotion you expend as a reader. The reading is also very well done. Added much to the experience. This is the kind of book that should be heard, not silently read.

Laughing and weeping

This book has moved me deeply. I got to know a variety of people on an intimate level. My heart hurts for the pain we can cause one another and rejoices for the happiness we can share. Risus est bellum, laughter is war; This is clearly demonstrated in the two tailors especially. When there is life, there is hope. A beautiful story, read by a gifted narrator. For sure ya!

Wonderful book!!

This is a book that will stay with you long after you've finished listening to it. The narration was superb!

Wonderful book

Fom the moment I started this book I was captured by the theme, the characters, the narration. It is the kind of stuff that stays with you long after you finished it. I highly recommend it.