Book Description
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.
My Review
This is a beautifully written book about life in India during the mid-70's. The characters are well-drawn so much so that you can feel a real connection to them. We get a picture of the awful way of life under Prime Minister Gandhi's The State of Emergency, the 3rd world economics, the political, social and religious conditions of the caste system and the strength it takes for the human spirit to endure. This book is a must read as it is a real piece of art that will stay with you long after you finish the last page.
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.
My Review
This is a beautifully written book about life in India during the mid-70's. The characters are well-drawn so much so that you can feel a real connection to them. We get a picture of the awful way of life under Prime Minister Gandhi's The State of Emergency, the 3rd world economics, the political, social and religious conditions of the caste system and the strength it takes for the human spirit to endure. This book is a must read as it is a real piece of art that will stay with you long after you finish the last page.
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