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

2011, Neustadt International Prize for Literature

"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

Simply magnificent!

I was astounded at the breadth and depth both the observations and the insights into the humanity “scape”described by the magical pen of Mistry. The writing skill exceeds anything I have read in the past 25 to 30 years. This book should be taught in every high school in America.

Riveting story

Beautifully written prose, read with emotion. Some Indian words were mispronounced but a compelling performance nonetheless.

Lives and times of some 20th Century Indians

This compelling story ties historic events and cultural mores to 20th century, Indian political and economic changes. You see and experience change through the lives of four main characters and other characters who interact with them over time. The story builds an appreciation of where India has come from in relatively modern times.

Praise for the Narrator as much as the Writer

So many reviewers have said that the book is slow to grab the listener's ear, and I agree, as far as content is concerned. But, John Lee's rendering of the voices and the narrative is superb, and that kept me going. Also, I was extremely drawn to the subject of caste and class in 20th Century India, so I stuck it out through the first third of the book.
Indeed, the stories are extremely saddening (and sometimes quite revolting, so beware if your stomach is as sensitive as mine), which makes the book difficult to digest a lot of the time. Yet, I never had the sense that anything in it was less than believable.
Poverty is often inconceivably harsh, which is why a book like this is so important for readers born and reared in the USA to read/hear. One thing I found myself doing throughout my "listen" was reminding myself of what life was like here, in the same time periods that Mistry's characters were living through, which added to the experience for me.
I can't say I "enjoyed" the book, but I have to say I could NOT stop listening until I got to the end--even though I literally cried for the last 3 hours of it. That is how compelling the writing and the reader of this book were.

Keep listening

I'll begin by stating that I almost never give 5 stars. I probably would have given 4.5 if I could. The first 1/3 of the book, I kept thinking that I would not be able to finish the book. I was essentially bored and not really caring for the characters. Once I hit the halfway point, I could not stop listening! Please, at least go to the halfway point if you are bored. You will find yourself sucked into a web of political anguish with a first had perspective. These characters get the real meaning of friendship and family.

Time Well-Spent

I have read many Audible reviews of "A Fine Balance" in which the reviewer was put off by the "depressing" content of the novel. I don't know what books those reviewers normally read, but just as life is not all rainbows and unicorns, neither is literature. Granted, AFB not for the faint of heart, or those whose outrage threshold is low, but for those with the stamina and emotional fortitude to take it on, it is a most rewarding experience. Beautifully written, its scope--ranging from village to town to city, with an assortment of side characters who interact with the four protagonists--and its focus on social injustice merit the comparisons to Dickens that the novel often receives. But unlike Dickens, Mistry feels no need to comfort his readers with the maudlin happy endings that so often mar Dicken's greatest works. Instead, he takes a steely-eyed, realistic, and fatalistic (if not nihilistic), view of the lives of his characters and their lives.

I was a little bit nervous when I saw it was narrated by John Lee. I like his narration in general, but he has a weird way with accents (whenever he does a European accent, he always ends up sounding like the Count from Sesame Street), and I was not sure how he would do on subcontinental accents. But he was fine, and the listening experience was quite enjoyable.

Highly recommended.

Epic Novel portraying life in India

Addictive story of 4 main character’s lives in India. The few happy events are coupled with the many tragic situations they experience. The writing is at times so lyrical and beautiful it smooths the incredible sadness that is being described. A book that allows you to experience what it was like living in India, the poverty, the corruption, the brutality as well as the kindness & friendship of some people!

One of the very best I’ve ever read

Astonishing, heartbreaking, funny and achingly sweet. This book takes you on quite the roller coaster ride. Read it, you won’t regret it. This book deserves all the acclaim it has received and more.

Sound novel/John Lee

I am not a big fan of this kind of genre: socially conscious realism, I guess, that would the word that I am looking for a la Zola type (I actually like Zola when you place his in his own historical context). It is also too long. I waited patiently to finish it. I usually read/listen but this time I decided to listen. And I do not think that I am going to read it. I think that the novel might be outdated in the context of it as a novel. In other the current situation with literature points in the direction of some other existential disclosure the meaning of which no one understands. Socially conscious seems to be outdated. But, at the same time, the topic of friendship was very well developed (rarity in literature for some strange reasons). I have to confess that I might not have been to finish if it were not narrated by John Lee. What a giant of narration. Together with George Guidall these are the best. In that sense it was like a special treat. Just listen it for that single purpose. Bravo!!

Prepare to be made to feel anger and despair!

Excellently narrated. An authentic representation of Indian life and the Indian psych during the Post independance era. Funny, warm moments but an overwhelming air of despair, injustice and inevitability. A rather desperate ending too