Customer Reviews

Fine Balance

5 star:		(108)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Rohinton Mistry is a gifted writer. With A Fine Balance he proves he can writer about the human soul and social condition with the same love for both aspects of life. Moreover, there aren't many writers around there who can keep readers' attention for more than 600 pages. In 'A Fine Balance' there is something going on in every chapter, and from time to time, a new characters pops up, and he/she is as well developed as those who are presented at page one.

In my opinion, 'Balance' is, among other things, about the social condition overcoming the human codition. Not only are the main characters struggling to survive, but they also need to fight in order not to lose their human condition, and become animals. And, believe me, in their times and place, it was not an easy thing. The book also succeeds when shows how politics interferes in everybody's lives --even in the one who are not interested in that.

'A Fine Balance' is a great book and a wonderful read. But I something weird happened to me when reading it. On one hand I wanted to read it as much as I could, all the time, on the other, once I put it down, I wasn't very excited to get back to it again, but once I got I would read 30, 40 pages in a row. This thing had never happened to me. Maybe because I was scared to find out that no matter how bad life is, it can always get worse. In the book when you think that the characters' lives are bad and there is nothing else to happen to them, think again...

Mistry has written a book for our times. You may not like it, or even understand, but it is impossible to finish it and still think in the same way about life, about being a human being.

Picked this book up initially because I wanted to get a taste of India... SOLID WRITING peaked my interest and I was soon captivated by the characters. But it started to get a little depressing...I had been warned, "oh don't read that, it only gets worse". Pshw! I figured I could handle it... This is unquestionably THE MOST DEPRESSING BOOK EVER! I was SO ANGRY with the author when I finished reading that I wanted to throw the book at the wall and call him up to tell him how upset I was... But over time, no other story/characters have ever HAUNTED me like this.
Don't let the size of the book deter you... THIS IS A MASTERPIECE and worth the read, but its still the most disturbing book I've ever encountered. This is India.

As I came closer and closer to the end of this book I read slower and slower. The four main characters, Dina, Maneck, Om and Ishvar had a hold on me and I didn't want them to let go. I wanted Dina to be happy, Om to get married, Ishvar and Dina to build on their growing friendship, and Maneck to do well in school and work. But, things don't always work out. In this book, it seems nothing works out. Four people lost at the bottom of a corrupt society and dysfunctional government didn't have a chance.
A Fine Balance reads well. It has the feel of a 19th century family novel, Tolstoy without the sermon. Get a good glass of wine (or a case), a comfortable chair, and enjoy a good book.

If you are looking for a feel good book, move along, nothing to see here. This is probably the most depressing book I have ever read. If you are the kind of person that slows down at a car crash and genuinely wants to see the gory details of what happened, this is definitely the book for you. It was extremely well written, probably too well written as I feel my heart will ache for the characters for some time to come.

Wonderful read, I really felt transported into another time and place, the characters are wonderful, and I most enjoyed the book from start to finish

I finally have this book again. Thanks to my brother, he exposed me to this book because he has extraordinary taste in literature. I am so glad that I have it again.

this book was recommended to me by a friend, said it was good. I will give it a try. you should too

I consider this my favorite read of all time....looks intimidating...but so moving, you will have a hard time putting it down....

Breathtaking.......rips your heart out and then stomps on it. Loved every page. Mistry is a genious.... he has the ability to write beautiful prose and memorable characters on every page.

Well, I was very impressed with this book. Much more than I thought I would be. I thought it might be hard to understand or relate to or boring. It was neither, it was very easy to understand and most parts were very interesting to read. The author did a good job to get you "hooked" on the characters. You wanted to know where they came from, and he explained that, and where they were going, he did that. It's a very sad story. It was cool to read about a place that is so different from "home". And to learn about what their country, relgion and history is like. It's long, but well worth the time