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Kris's Reviews > A Fine Balance
A Fine Balance
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This is a compelling novel. Mistry focuses the story around the lives and interactions of four main characters, who cross paths in an unnamed city in India in 1975 during the State of Emergency. Mistry is unsparing in details of how difficult, even cruel, life is for these characters. Their opportunities are constrained by caste, gender, government corruption locally and across the country, and greed. In detailed flashbacks, Mistry describes the pasts of the characters with such humanity that it's impossible not to identify with them in some way.
This is a fast read, in part because of how beautifully drawn the characters are, and in part because you want to read on quickly to discover how the characters will handle the challenges life throws at them. It's a disturbing read as well, because Mistry provides clear descriptions of the violence, greed, and lack of compassion each character faces. At the same time, though, the novel is filled with countless examples of ways, large and small, that the man characters and others help each other, with the most generous sometimes being the characters with the least power and resources. In the end, I came away with the message that, even in the face of prejudice, greed, and hatred, people can survive hardships through loving ties with others.
This is a fast read, in part because of how beautifully drawn the characters are, and in part because you want to read on quickly to discover how the characters will handle the challenges life throws at them. It's a disturbing read as well, because Mistry provides clear descriptions of the violence, greed, and lack of compassion each character faces. At the same time, though, the novel is filled with countless examples of ways, large and small, that the man characters and others help each other, with the most generous sometimes being the characters with the least power and resources. In the end, I came away with the message that, even in the face of prejudice, greed, and hatred, people can survive hardships through loving ties with others.
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Reading Progress
February 17, 2012
– Shelved
February 17, 2012
– Shelved as:
fiction
April 1, 2012
– Shelved as:
1001
April 7, 2012
– Shelved as:
india
Started Reading
April 15, 2012
–
Finished Reading
June 30, 2012
– Shelved as:
five-stars
January 9, 2018
– Shelved as:
favorites
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Jul 01, 2012 05:55AM
This sounds like a worthwhile read. Thanks for the review, Kris!
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Thanks so much, Traveller! I found it riveting.
This has been on my shelf for a while now and every so often, i take it down and weigh it gently in my paw and think hmmm, one day soon. I think the day is almost here!
Shovelmonkey1 wrote: "This has been on my shelf for a while now and every so often, i take it down and weigh it gently in my paw and think hmmm, one day soon. I think the day is almost here!"I'll be really interested to read your review! The characters in it are wonderful, and I respected Mistry's ability to maintain a sense of humanity while also clearly representing the horrors of life at the time, particularly for lower caste Indians, women, etc.
I absolutely loved this book! The epilogue is one of the most tragic endings I've read.
Rajat wrote: "I absolutely loved this book! The epilogue is one of the most tragic endings I've read."I agree entirely, Rajat. It's so absorbing, and the characters are so memorable, which makes the impact of the ending all the greater.
A great review. It sounds quite a devastating read, but hugely insightful. Like you I can always be moved by the courage of the human spirit.I am slightly put off by Rajat's comment. Tough, tough....and then more tough.
Thank you so much for your comment, Caroline. I understand your concerns about the tragic nature of the book's ending. In the end, when I look back on it the sense of humanity among characters who have limited resources, but who look our for each other, helped me manage the focus on their desperate circumstances.
Yes, I can hugely understand that....
Wonderful review, Kris. I am so glad to see how much you liked this one!
I have just seen your excellent review Kris. I seem to miss so many.This looks a wonderful book and there are many on GRs who have read it. I must confess my ignorance that I don't know this author at all.
Sadly my library and others in my catchment area don't carry the Darwin book you recommended, nor an early book the author wrote on him.But my investigations show that we do have tons of books on Darwin available at local libraries, so I must do some investigating.
No worries, Lynne -- this is an old review (which you can tell in part by the length!). Mistry is a must-read author, in my opinion. I'd be very interested to hear what you think of this novel when you read it.Caroline -- keeping my fingers crossed for some good library karma for you!
I've been on the fence about this one ... and now I know. LOL
This could so easily have been a list of atrocities committed during a nightmare of time. I agree Kris his craft made it compelling, and immediately enabled the reader to experience the decimation and heroism of these people.
Must-read status to Kris? Ok, that means something!One bit of your review reminded me of an article I read: "with the most generous sometimes being the characters with the least power and resources." A study of some sort has born this out empirically, so apparently it's not merely a literary trope. I wish I could find it; I'd link it.
As I've only been on GR six months, I have to ask, is it weird for old reviews to surface like this? Are you like "What? I wrote that two years ago!"
oooh lovely review! I have this book, can't wait to read it now
To all the readers whose Status for this book reads as "have-it-on-my-shelf-yet-to-read", pick it up. You will not regret it. I bill it as one of the most beautiful yet depressing books ever read.
Rohit wrote: "To all the readers whose Status for this book reads as "have-it-on-my-shelf-yet-to-read", pick it up. You will not regret it. I bill it as one of the most beautiful yet depressing books ever read."Agreed, Rohit!
I'm reading this now and am surprised at how fast a read it is. I'm loving it. Thanks for your terrific review.
