About this title: In mid-1970s India, a "State of Internal Emergency" has been declared. Four disparate people find their lives connected in ways that are as inextricable as they are unexpected. A housing shortage brings them together as roommates in an apartment: they are a widow determined not to remarry, a student from the Himalayas, and a man and his nephew fleeing the violence of their village. The novel itself portrays India during a period of upheaval and tumult and explores the way the human spirit survives under such circumstances.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Random House Inc, New York
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9781400030651ISBN:140003065X
Description: Good. No Jacket as Issued. Ex-Library Ex-Library with a stamp to the top of the front cover. Wear and creasing to the covers. Front side edge is taped. Otherwise a clean copy. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9781400030651ISBN:140003065X
Description: Good. Considerable cover wear and tear with creasing and scuffing to edges. Previous owner's name on page. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Vintage Books USA
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9781400030651ISBN:140003065X
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 624 p. Oprah's Book Club (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
"This is an ambitious book about how average people in India were affected by Indira Gandhi's emergency during the late 70's and early 80's. The story started with rural low caste Indians that were supposed to be the untouchables, the ones that tanned leather. They had a very hard life especially when higher caste members of the village tormented them. This family decided to change from leather to become tailors. They learned from a Muslim in a nearby village. That caused them a great deal of grief and attacks and eventually an uncle and his nephew were the only family left. They decided to seek their fortune in the city. The other characters in the book were Farsi that were brought together in the city with the tailors. The emergency had horrific effects on the poorest that couldn't defend themselves and whom were always on the verge of starvation and utter poverty. Other characters were the beggar master and his group of beggars he was responsible for. The desperation the poorest people faced brought them to allowing their children to be maimed so they would have food to eat from begging in the big city. Obviously, this is a heart wrenching subject, but was related in a very gentle manner that helped me learn about that time period in India. Because of the complexity of the subject, the book is very long, but worth reading."
"If you want to get lost in a good book, try this one! It is long, 600 pages, but it is an easy quick read.
The characters literally live in a fine balance between hope and depair. Just when you think everything is going well...the unhappy side of life happens. By the end of the 600 pages I felt like I knew these people. In fact the night after finishing there was a television program on and the story was taking place in India. I found myself searching the street scenes for a glimpse of Om or Ishvar as if they were real. Kind of weird.
Anyway, even though life is difficult for our friends I have to admit, I never saw the train coming.
There is a lot of despair in this story, but in the end hope wins. One day I plan to read this one again to pay a visit to all my friends."
"this book was incredible. so sad and yet parts of it were uplifting and so lovely that the author's belief in the ability of the human spirit to soar stood out, for me anyway, as more powerful than the terrible hardships that the people had to endure. i don't mean to downplay or undermine these experiences in any way, because they are unimaginably awful, but the ability of the characters to create beautiful relationships in the midst of chaos was incredible. like run (ann patchett), which i was listening to at the same time as i was reading this book, the novel focuses on familial relationships and how sometimes the family you create for yourself, even if you wouldn't have chosen these particular people, can be just as important as the family you are born into."
"This book is a gift from my former teacher and mentor, which I received in the year he would begin teaching it in his high school AP/IB class. It is a dense work, and a challenging work, especially for sheltered suburban teens, and I understand why he needed to teach it.
Prior to reading this, I was relatively unfamiliar with India's caste system, beyond simply knowing that one exists. This beautifully written story explores three separate individuals from separate backgrounds, and shows how their lives and histories intersect. As to be expected, these characters have certain boundaries and assumptions of each other, and the book chronicles an initial reluctant reliance on each other that transforms into a warm and caring codependency, as the characters find, with each other, "a fine balance."
Some of the events, conditions, and descriptions in this work are atrocious and shocking, but they are necessary. Survival is "a fine balance," and the reader is truly anxious for the well-being of these incredibly developed characters Mistry creates.
Finely written and, at many times, very funny, "A Fine Balance" is gripping, heartwarming, and tragic, and reveals the larger picture of India's caste system and what it truly means to have nothing, without losing everything."
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