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

Totally stunning from start to end

I have done over 100 books on Audible and this is one of the best I have read. So moving and I loved all the characters, fantastic narration.

Insightful, heartbreaking, and wonderful

This book is wonderfully written and narrated. Yes, it is long, but it is long for a reason. It is an honest reflection of the lives of people during an intense and cruel time in history. You get to know the characters and to cherish the good moments they have as their lives are intertwined with one another. The author makes no attempt to candy coat reality and give everyone a perfect, fuzzy ending, and I'm glad for that. There are pieces of this book I will carry with me, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Wonderful listen .

I listened to this book very quickly tge narrator was superb and the story about 4 people struggling in India was sad but fascinating the insight into human nature and the awful conditions in India yet it was a great story so glad I found it and highly recommend this book . It had the 3 things that I like , great story great narrator and it's a long book which I enjoy .

Read this book-then read it again!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes

What did you like best about this story?

It had everything

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

Great performance

Any additional comments?

Beautifully written, at turns comic, tragic, haunting, exuberant, redemptive above all else

Incredible and incredibly painful

It took me over 20 years to finish this novel. I could only withstand reading a portion at a time before I would become overwhelmed by the descriptions of human misery. Then, after a couple of years, I would pick it back up and read the next portion. I am at a loss for words, having just completed the book and experiencing the carving out of a deep cave in my chest.

Outstanding narration, nuanced story

Very well-written, nuanced story-telling. The author captures many levels of humanity and traverses the political landscape with wry satire. The dialogue is materful, lent additional authenticity by the outstanding narration (reason alone to buy this book)

You will never forget this one

This is a classic- I couldn't stop listening. It is an amazing book. I wish there were more stars.

India's poor and the caste system

I found this book hard to put down. It is a dark story and seems like there is no happiness or very little in this book. It is raw and dangerous-not for everybody. Beggars, people who are dirt poor, and evil people in authority; that is who you will meet in this book. BUT there are people who try to rise above their circumstances and are beaten down. I liked reading it but it was disturbing.

Great reader makes a good book better on Audible

John Lee's reading of this novel is magnificent! The book is heavy in dialogue and he gives a unique voice to each speaker. There is a musical lilt to the English spoken by the characters and Mr. Lee seems to be spot on with his reading.

The novel itself is a Dickensian struggle against societal injustice. Along the way one learns much aboutIndia in the second half of the 20th Century. The caste system, religious conflict and the tyrannical regime of Indira Gandhi are just some of the subjects woven into the story. One word of warning--don't expect a warm fuzzy ending. Mr Mistry is relentlessly realistic.

A Fine Telling

"Where humans were concerned, the only emotion that made sense was wonder at their ability to endure, and sorrow for the hopelessness of it all."

This sentence from the book more or less sums up how I feel after finishing. The setting of the story is India in 1975 (with several brief jaunts to earlier parts of the 20th century to explain characters' backgrounds), and it paints an entertaining, at times amusing, and yet often bleak and disturbing picture of how the political situation in India affects people of different backgrounds (Hindu, Muslim, Sikh), different points of origin (mountains, village, big city) and different socioeconomic statuses. The fact that the reader gets to know the characters so well makes the good times particularly heartwarming, and at times makes it difficult to hear what is happening to them.

I found the story to be well crafted and nicely paced. There are several characters and story lines that cross when you don't expect it and are easy to follow. The narrator, John Lee, is excellent; I might not have embarked upon the audiobook version of this novel if I had not seen his name in the narrator slot.