Reading 1001 discussion

I have to break with others in the group who read and loved this novel, but I'm sure it's my fault alone for not truly enjoying it. I too recently finished two long, detailed oriented books, one of them A Suitable Boy about India. This one was just bad timing for me because I was feeling pretty saturated with things Indian after the first few chapters of A Fine Balance; and when I took into account the length, I became rather depressed. After that it was a bit of a slog to keep going back to it when there was beautiful weather and gardening to be done outside!

That said, it was a well-written novel; and I do appreciate how others loved the character development, Indian history and culture and emotional evocation. I appreciated all those as well. I like realistic fiction with no fairy tale endings, so this one should have been a home run for me except for the timing issue. I guess the only thing I can contribute in this review about this novel is that not even an excellent one makes itself compelling when your personal circumstances are not conducent.

I gave it *** (though it deserves more), and recommend it to anyone who is up for a long, realistic and sad historical novel about multiple characters from different walks of life in very difficult times in 20th century India.

A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry Read, 9/24/2016, 5 stars
A great book that is set in 1975 in India and tells the story of a woman, Dina, who in order to maintain her independence takes on a border (Maneck) and hires two tailors (Ishvar and Om) to sew garments for a contract. It is a wonderful story of friendships and survival (or not) of the human spirit when life is not so easy. An eye opening book about the politics in 1975 and how it affected the people on the fringe. The emergency was a 21 month period of time from 1975 to 1977 when the prime mister ruled by decree; civil liberties and elections were suspended. One of the main events during this Emergency was the forced sterilization program.

Quotes: "The secret of survival is to embrace change, and to adapt." pg 228.
"Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair". pg 228 to 229.
"Later I discovered there were different types of roads. And different way of walking on each.....Must be my tailor training. Tailors re practiced in examining patterns, reading the outlines." page 395.

The Epilogue of the story is 8 years later after the assassination of the prime minister and we catch up on where everyone is 8 years later. Did they keep their fine balance? Were they able to adapt? You should read this story. A great story and a reminder of history that I had forgotten or didn't know.

I also gave this one 5 stars. There are several books on the list that are about or refer to The Emergency in India, and this one is by far my favorite so far.

The characterization was great: they were all flawed but wonderfully human, and the found family that Dina, Maneck, Ishvar, and Om form throughout the novel was lovely and really touched me.

The twists in the plot were also really entertaining, but also conveyed the horror of the emergency really well. And I feel like the ending conveyed the "fine balance between hope and despair" in such an impactful way.

read Sept 2022

Sweeping, yet human scaled this novel about a group of disparate people making their way through ‘The Emergency” in India. Mistry writes in such a way that you care deeply about his main characters, which for me made it hard to read because this is one of those stories where life is very difficult and bad things happen to decent people. This is a very readable novel, and well worth the emotional investment. 5*

A book about complicated human relationships in a very politically charged time during the "Emergency" in the mid 1970's in India. The lives of the four ill-fated main characters intertwine in a very believable and human way and therefore the novel does not appear forced but rather is a straight forward read with little modern trappings. The four main characters are not always likable and there are no real heroes but nevertheless the perseverance displayed in some of the characters creates just a hint of hope that is balanced against a world full of miseries, horrors and continuing political and caste prejudice. Mistry brings to his characters true caring and you can not help but care also. The themes of the nature of patterns both human and otherwise, the happiness and sadness of memories, the dizziness of the modern urban world against a rural village community, and always where one fines balance in a world that is tilted all out of alignment vibrate throughout the whole book and at no time did I find it long or tedious.
I gave it 5 stars.

Quotes:
"Stories of suffering are no fun when we are the main characters"

"There is always hope - hope enough to balance our despair. Or we would be lost"

What a wonderful book, a well-detailed story of four individual lives converging together in troublesome times. The writing is very straightforward, Mistry is a beautiful storyteller that really draws you in and even when you don't necessarily care for the actions of the characters, you understand them and still care for them. Truly moving when they all start to care for each other too, when Dina offers them the cups with the red roses my heart melted. That being said it is also a tale of numerous horrors occurring in the country at large and also to the main cast of characters, it is hard going at times and I was constantly on edge waiting for the next knife to drop. But ultimately in the end I think the message is one of hope and perseverance even in the worst of times.

"So that's the rule to remember, the whole quilt is much more important than any single square."

"How can time be long or short? Time is without length or breadth. The question is, what happened during its passing. And what happened is, our lives have been joined together."

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
5 stars

This is my 10th book based in India and it is still my favorite place to be. My ratings for these books are all 4 and 5 stars. This is my first book by Rohinton Mistry but it is a winner at 5 stars. The book is aptly named as our characters are on the fringes of society. This is a turbulent time in India during the “emergency” of 1975. Much of the book surrounds the discrimination of lower castes including those of different religion not in the majority. I loved our main characters; Dina, Om, Ishvar and Maneck. The trials and tribulations of their lives were weaved together quite nicely.

“I think that our sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing are all calibrated for the enjoyment of a perfect world. But since the world is imperfect, we must put blinders on the senses.”

“Everything changes, whether we like it or not.”

“Deceit, hypocrisy, manipulation were more the fabrics of her garment, she thought.”

Pre-2016 review:

****

The destinies of four lives become intricately linked during the period of the Indian Emergency in the mid-70s. A novel about hope and despair, this page-turner guides you through the whole gamut of possible emotions. Another very fine example of contemporary Indian literature.