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A Fine Balance
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 24 hrs and 24 mins
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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.
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
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- Unabridged
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Here is the astonishing new novel by the Man Booker Prize–winning author of The White Tiger, a book that took rage and anger at injustice and turned it into a thrilling murder story. Now, with the same fearlessness and insight, Aravind Adiga broadens his canvas to give us a riveting story of money and power, luxury and deprivation, set in the booming city of Mumbai.
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Witty, Sad, Outrageous
- By Cariola on 04-21-12
By: Aravind Adiga
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The God of Small Things
- By: Arundhati Roy
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Likened to the works of Faulkner and Dickens when it was first published 20 years ago, this extraordinarily accomplished debut novel is a brilliantly plotted story of forbidden love and piercing political drama, centered on the tragic decline of an Indian family in the state of Kerala, on the southernmost tip of India. Armed only with the invincible innocence of children, the twins Rahel and Esthappen fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family.
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Worthy Booker winner!
- By Saman on 08-10-17
By: Arundhati Roy
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Not My Baby
- By: Anya Mora
- Narrated by: Aven Shore
- Length: 3 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Never question a mother’s intuition. My water isn’t supposed to break while there’s a storm raging, when my husband isn’t on the island, and as the power flickers out. Darkness covers the cabin as I cling to my belly. I never imagined it happening like this. Trained as a midwife, I know I can deliver my daughter.
By: Anya Mora
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True History of the Kelly Gang
- By: Peter Carey
- Narrated by: Gianfranco Negroponte
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Ned Kelly's name resonates in Australia the same way the name Jesse James does in America. Was he a crusading folk hero or murderous horse thief and bank robber? Who was the real Ned Kelly? As the impoverished son of an Irish convict, Kelly was cheated, lied to, and abused by the English. Committed to fighting back against oppression, Kelly and his gang of outlaws eluded police for nearly two years.
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An 'adjectival' masterpiece of 'effing' prose.
- By Darwin8u on 05-21-12
By: Peter Carey
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Songs in Ordinary Time
- By: Mary McGarry Morris
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 27 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Songs in Ordinary Time is set in the summer of 1960 - the last of quiet times and America's innocence. It centers on Marie Fermoyle, a strong but vulnerable woman whose loneliness and ambition for her children make her easy prey for the dangerous con man Omar Duvall.
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Where Are The Songs?
- By Louise on 09-18-08
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There but for the
- By: Ali Smith
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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At a dinner party in the posh London suburb of Greenwich, Miles Garth suddenly leaves the table midway through the meal, locks himself in an upstairs room, and refuses to leave. Neighbors and friends slowly gathers around the house, and the story of Miles is one told from the points of view of four of them: a woman in her 40s called Anna, a man in his 60s called Mark, a woman in her 80s called May, and a 10-year-old child called Brooke. The thing is... none of these people knows Miles anything more than glancingly.
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Insufferable as a bad house guest
- By Robert on 08-24-12
By: Ali Smith
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A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
- A Novel
- By: Anthony Marra
- Narrated by: Colette Whitaker
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Anthony Marra transports us to a snow-covered village in Chechnya, where eight-year-old Havaa watches from the woods as Russian soldiers abduct her father in the middle of the night, accusing him of aiding Chechen rebels. Across the road their lifelong neighbor and family friend Akhmed has also been watching, fearing the worst when the soldiers set fire to Havaa’s house. But when he finds her hiding in the forest with a strange blue suitcase, he makes a decision that will forever change their lives. He will seek refuge at the abandoned hospital where the sole remaining doctor, Sonja Rabina, treats the wounded.
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A Conflicted Response
- By Cariola on 09-24-13
By: Anthony Marra
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The Book of Margery Kempe
- By: Margery Kempe
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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The Book of Margery Kempe is the extraordinary account of a medieval wife, mother, and mystic from Norfolk. Having married in c. 1393, given birth to 14 children, and pursued unsuccessful ventures in brewing and milling, Kempe made a vow of chastity and embarked on a life of prayer, penance, and pilgrimage.
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Memoirs of a 14th Century Christian
- By S. Cremona on 03-15-23
By: Margery Kempe
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Midnight's Children
- By: Salman Rushdie
- Narrated by: Lyndam Gregory
- Length: 24 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Salman Rushdie holds the literary world in awe with a jaw-dropping catalog of critically acclaimed novels that have made him one of the world's most celebrated authors. Winner of the prestigious Booker of Bookers, Midnight's Children tells the story of Saleem Sinai, born on the stroke of India's independence.
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Outstanding book, superb narration
- By MarcS on 06-09-09
By: Salman Rushdie
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And the Mountains Echoed
- By: Khaled Hosseini
- Narrated by: Khaled Hosseini, Navid Negahban, Shohreh Aghdashloo
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
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Khaled Hosseini, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations.
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Does the End Justify the Means
- By FanB14 on 05-24-13
By: Khaled Hosseini
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Possession
- By: A. S. Byatt
- Narrated by: Virginia Leishman
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
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As a pair of young scholars research the lives of two Victorian poets, they uncover their letters, journals, and poems and track their movements from London to Yorkshire - from spiritualist seances to the fairy-haunted far west of Brittany. What emerges is an extraordinary counterpoint of passion and ideas.
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Absolutely Excellent
- By Loujujoe on 05-12-09
By: A. S. Byatt
What listeners say about A Fine Balance
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- nursebettyknitting
- 11-16-13
One of the best novels ever written
At first, I had trouble "getting into" this book - a lot of foreign names to sort through. However, I kept listening and got completely engrossed in it. For sure, this is one of the greatest work of literature of our times, and I don't declare it lightly. What an amazing portrait of humanity with all its flaws, a slice of life painted with masterful strokes. The destinies of main characters - a widow, two taylors, and a college student intersect for a year.They become an unusual family of sorts, enjoying companionship, friendship and mutual support.
The book has a very sad ending. It is probably more true and realistic then the "good" endings I like to enjoy at the end of stories. Do not miss this novel, it is a true gem.
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7 people found this helpful
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- SAK
- 07-25-14
Wish the narration was better.
What made the experience of listening to A Fine Balance the most enjoyable?
A Fine Balance is one of my favorite books, so having it to listen to in the car is a nice treat.
What did you like best about this story?
This book is an epic, sweeping novel about a really troubled time in India's history. It is written such that you feel every emotion, you see the landscape... few writers have Mistry's gift. His writing is amazing. I would read (and have!) anything he writes.
Any additional comments?
I was not happy with the narration- mostly because I'm Indian, and almost every Hindi word was mispronounced. These were not difficult words- any Indian could have told the narrator how to pronounce, but as I listened it was just really off-putting.
For example, "loata" is pronounced "low-ta", not "low-AH-ta", and loata is a super common indian word so hearing it wrong over and over was painful. Same with so many others, and even the names. "Naaa-waaaz" (Nawaz) should have been "Na-waaaz." I could go on and on. So while I think the book is literally a masterpiece, I was disappointed at the narration. However if you are not a Hindi/Urdu speaker, you'll probably be none the wiser and enjoy it.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Marjorie
- 04-27-13
Should be Required Reading, Fantastic
I loved this book. The main characters face hardships and struggles while showing true friendship and resounding resilience. This book reminded me of Frankl's book, Man's Search For Meaning; except that these guys always had sweet humor. While filled with suffering, there was never a dwelling on the suffering and always a persevering spirit of hope showing how even in the darkest times, people pull together and create friendships. Throughout the book, there were funny adventures and surprising insights. I learned about the Indian people and found myself loving them for their ability to find lightness and humor amidst the suffering. Suggested reading.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kadijah Abston
- 04-30-23
Long but good
This was a well-written, but even though it was quite long. I highly recommend it.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Cherolyn
- 01-14-13
Disturbing, enlighting and profound
Would you consider the audio edition of A Fine Balance to be better than the print version?
I did not read the print version.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Deena Dalal, the women who brought together the tailors and the student. She is a strong character, going against the cultural grain. Her world was small in terms of those she trusted and loved. Her choices shaped a life for her that in the end resulted in being where she fought hard not to be.
Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Yes I have. I've heard him read Ken Follete's novels. His German accent was very effective in those narratives. To hear him speak in the Indian tongue was very impressive. His delivery of the story was very dramatic and believable. Each time I listened to the story, I was totally transported into the scene.
If you could rename A Fine Balance, what would you call it?
Quilt of Life
Any additional comments?
What made this book so profound was the fact that both tailors and Deena Bi learned to accept their lives in the end and settled into a way of being with little complaint. Manac, on the other hand, had a bright future. He had money that he earned in Dubai. He had his father's business to run. He, however, could not see past his own feelings of guilt, unwantedness and despair. He allowed the conditions that he saw drag him down into depression and ultimately suicide. What a pity!!
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- G. Smalley
- 07-23-14
Bummer Dude
If you could sum up A Fine Balance in three words, what would they be?
Life Sucks
What other book might you compare A Fine Balance to and why?
The Woman of Brewster's Place Why? I guess the tone.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Not possible, 24 hrs long. After the first 7hrs I needed to break it into 3-4 hr. sections.
Any additional comments?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" is not a true statement from the charters in this book. I was shocked by some of the brutality but I also felt joy when some of the people had a victory. Like all great books this one took me on an emotional ride, meaning I got to touch base will all my emotions. The end did feel a little contrived, but still a great book.
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- Impartial Observer
- 08-14-17
grim but outstanding
the story is a very grim one. overcoming major obstacles and then getting crushed again. outstanding novel thst conveys the richness of life
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- J. Bell
- 04-29-19
Unforgettable!!
Both the story and the narration were wonderful. Though it was lengthy and required lots of listening over quite a few hours, it was worth every second.
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- rebecca carro
- 05-03-24
Tragic
So incredibly sad and heartbreaking, but such a great story. I wish it had ended just. Little differently with the characters, but I loved it all the same.
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Overall
- Matt
- 01-28-05
What an incredible and devastating book
I seldom bother to write reviews. This review is here to simply echo my endorsement of this book. It's worth the time spend reading. Everything the other 5 star reviewers write is spot on. Buy this book, you will not be sorry.
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5 people found this helpful