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A Fine Balance

by Rohinton Mistry

A Fine Balance Cover

ISBN13: 9781400030651
ISBN10: 140003065x
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

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Staff Pick

For a while it seemed that novels set in India were all the rage. My favorite is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. His massive tome ranges across the vast chasms of that giant subcontinent, all from the cramped apartment of Dina Dalal. Through her eyes, along with those of her two impoverished tailors and her bright if unambitious nephew, we are provided a glimpse into every corner of Indian society. Mistry describes the absurdities and petty prejudices held by many Indians in a way that would make Flannery O'Connor or Carson McCullers proud.
Recommended by John, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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.

Review:

"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

Review:

"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

Review:

"A serious and important work . . . the product of high intelligence and passionate conviction." New York Review of Books

Review:

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

About the Author

Rohinton Mistry was born in Bombay and now lives near Toronto. His first novel, Such a Long Journey, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and received, among other awards, the Governor General's Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book of the Year. A Fine Balance is his second novel, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Fiction, the Giller Prize, and the Commonwealth Writers Prize as well as a Booker Prize finalist. Mistry is also the author of Swimming Lessons, a collection of short stories.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 22 comments:

lissi, September 7, 2011 (view all comments by lissi)
How Mistry found humor and humanity in such a sad tale is amazing. How these characters remained human under the harsh conditions that were imposed is remarkable. I just finished and I feel the sadness of these characters and of this story will remain with me for some time.
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(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
nancy2ken, January 1, 2011 (view all comments by nancy2ken)
I will never view India the same way again. I couldn't put the book down, but didn't want it to end. Rohinton is a master of detail and character development.
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braun, January 31, 2010 (view all comments by braun)
Love this book! The characters are amazing. Even after years of reading this, the story is still with me. Sad but inspiring!
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(3 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)
View all 22 comments

Product Details

ISBN:
9781400030651
Author:
Mistry, Rohinton
Publisher:
Vintage Books
Location:
New York
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
India
Subject:
City and town life
Subject:
Historical fiction
Subject:
Apartment houses
Subject:
Domestic fiction
Subject:
FICTION / Literary
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Series:
Vintage International
Series Volume:
59
Publication Date:
20011131
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
624
Dimensions:
7.99 x 5.17 x 1.25 in 1 lb

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Related Subjects

Featured Titles » Miscellaneous Award Winners
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z
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A Fine Balance Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$3.95 In Stock
Product details 624 pages Vintage Books USA - English 9781400030651 Reviews:
"Staff Pick" by ,

For a while it seemed that novels set in India were all the rage. My favorite is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. His massive tome ranges across the vast chasms of that giant subcontinent, all from the cramped apartment of Dina Dalal. Through her eyes, along with those of her two impoverished tailors and her bright if unambitious nephew, we are provided a glimpse into every corner of Indian society. Mistry describes the absurdities and petty prejudices held by many Indians in a way that would make Flannery O'Connor or Carson McCullers proud.

"Review" by , "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."
"Review" by , "Astonishing. . . . A rich and varied spectacle, full of wisdom and laughter and the touches of the unexpectedly familiar through which literature illuminates life."
"Review" by , "A serious and important work . . . the product of high intelligence and passionate conviction."
"Review" by , "Monumental. . . . Few have caught the real sorrow and inexplicable strength of India, the unaccountable crookedness and sweetness, as well as Mistry."
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