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  • A Fine Balance

  • By: Rohinton Mistry
  • Narrated by: Vikas Adam
  • Length: 25 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (1,325 ratings)
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A Fine Balance cover art

A Fine Balance

By: Rohinton Mistry
Narrated by: Vikas Adam
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Summary

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.

©1995 Rohinton Mistry (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about A Fine Balance

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    5 out of 5 stars

My favourite book ever

Sadly this book was such a compulsive read/listen that it lasted just a few days!
I loved the plot, the narration, the characters, alongside giving such a detailed insight into life in India in those days.
I cried and I laughed, laughing alot more than crying tho the story is tragic, there were so very many light and kind touches throughout.
I am bereft to have finished it and more so that no more substantial reads by this master storyteller are available on audio

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76 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Picaresque, epic scale, a Mahabharata for modern times.

This is one of the most extraordinary works to come my way in some time. The odyssey of two simple (very simple) tailors who step out of their caste, their destiny and into a poignant journey through India’s painful post-partum emergence. And Emergency. It is also an excoriating indictment of the Gandhi family’s grip on the country for two generations. Horror, brutality and corruption abound. And yet... Mistry’s vision is more complex than some black and white morality tale. I was reminded of the old aphorism that desperate times call for desperate measures. No simple answers emerge. At its heart however this is no political rant, but the interwoven stories of simple people who, if you have a heart, you will end up loving. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

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39 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding

This is one of the best audio books I have ever read.
I have traveled widely in India and it strikes such a cord with my experiences.
The writing is wonderfully rich and the language so well observed. As the story unfolds you find yourself immersed in the lives of these rich characters. It was so moving it’s hard to describe. The narrator was excellent and his clever characterisation of each person was so amazing.

I have a photo of a very young beggar child I took when I visited Delhi. He sleeps on the road side clutching his day’s wares. A few cheap biros for sale. The back drop is the array of luxury hotels off Connaught place.
It reminds me to give thanks for my very privileged life in the west.

read and enjoy

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35 people found this helpful

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Wonderful mix of history and story!

I loved this book but found it hard to deal with the cruelty and the fact there was little redemption or any happy endings. Couldn't stop listening.
Loved the history of India in this period and the wonderful noble and tragic characters.

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20 people found this helpful

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The Least of These.

I am astounded by the level and quality of this narration! A story that unwinds as it reels you in. I felt that I walked with the characters, understood them and experienced their lives intimately. The story is simple but the levels of complexity embedded in human societal structures and consequent behaviour left me exhilarated and at times hollowed out. If this book speaks to your sense of humanity, follow it up with the film, Article 15. I highly recommend this book!

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19 people found this helpful

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Perfect!

What can I say? I’ve been waiting for the audio version of this book for what seems like years. This version was well worth the wait.

This is such a wonderful tale, full of characters who you come to love with their stories woven together like Dina Dalal’s patchwork quilt. If you enjoyed the book you’ll love the audio version and if you haven’t read the book then don’t wait!!

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15 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping and Tragic - Must read!

A beautiful piece full of heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. Wonderful narration, listened to the whole thing in three days!

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13 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A must listen

A nuanced account of how ‘democracy’ fails the the common people, the heart of any society

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13 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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So Real So Sad

Lived the book - love/hate India. Ah India the place of colour. An amazing people an amazing diverse country.
Excellentky narrated. Probably the best so far!

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Re-listen and well worth it

I loved this just as much the second time around. Epic story, so beautifully written.

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9 people found this helpful