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A Fine Balance
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 25 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
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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.
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What listeners say about A Fine Balance
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jane Showering
- 16-10-18
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
69 people found this helpful
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- Christopher Hegan
- 26-03-19
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.
32 people found this helpful
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- Neil Bottle
- 09-02-19
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
30 people found this helpful
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- GarthK
- 24-09-19
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!
17 people found this helpful
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- Lotika Singha
- 29-07-18
A must listen
A nuanced account of how ‘democracy’ fails the the common people, the heart of any society
13 people found this helpful
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- laineya
- 20-10-18
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!!
12 people found this helpful
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- Hayley M
- 04-01-19
Gripping and Tragic - Must read!
A beautiful piece full of heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. Wonderful narration, listened to the whole thing in three days!
11 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 27-08-18
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.
20 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 13-10-19
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!
9 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 02-05-19
Re-listen and well worth it
I loved this just as much the second time around. Epic story, so beautifully written.
9 people found this helpful
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- Sarah
- 14-07-20
Magnificent book
Simply wonderful. The narrator is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. No more words needed. Just listen, you won’t regret it.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 25-06-20
Magnificent!
loved every moment if this complex intriguing account of the tragic lives of ordinary citizens and how their lives were woven together. victims of circumstances. wonderful narration brings the characters and scenes to life.
1 person found this helpful
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- ros
- 31-10-19
What a book!
A funny, sad, heartwarming, heartbreaking triumph! I loved the pictures, the sounds and the smells and emotions Rohinton’s writing brings to his readers.
1 person found this helpful
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- Carla
- 19-04-19
Life is SUCH a fine balance
But these characters experience the full measure of the balance or imbalance... it is a moving tale of what life in India was for most middle /lower class citizens during the turbulent ‘70’s ... well told, well developed characters and a full circle story. It is WELL WORTH your time and credit!!!
1 person found this helpful
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- jaspal singh
- 14-01-19
wow
loved it...will miss all the character after finish. awesome story ...a nice book to listen
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 10-02-22
Lost of words
I am full of sadness and will recover I know but the miseries of human life in scarcity of resources has turned my heart but worse is how human rights are violated and who is there if you have no one . Is that justice ? Is there god ? Yes there is or May be not …..
Story was so fine balanced and the narration excellent . Would like to listen more from Rohinton Mistry
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- Kindra Pekay
- 18-08-21
what a gem
the entire human emotional gamut lives in every page of this extraordinary story. Narrated superbly! don't miss it
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- Liz G.
- 11-10-20
I came to this book blind. But loved it.
I have not to my shame heard of the book or the author. But I just loved it. It made me laugh a lot and almost cry. But as others have said despite the setting, the subject and the characters this book is of hope, friendship and family ties. Listening to it has enriched my life and understanding of a place I have never visited but now understand a little better.