A Fine Balance

A Fine Balance is the second novel by Rohinton Mistry, published in 1995. Set in “an unidentified city” in India, initially in 1975 and later in 1984 during the turmoil of The Emergency, the book concerns four characters from varied backgrounds – Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, his nephew Omprakash Darji and the young student Maneck Kohlah – who come together and develop a bond.
First published by McClelland and Stewart in 1995, it won the 1995 Giller Prize. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1996. It was one of the only two Canadian books selected for Oprah’s Book Club, and was one of the selected books in the 2002 edition of Canada Reads, championed by actress Megan Follows. In 2014, A Fine Balance was ranked in The Telegraph as one of the 10 all-time greatest Asian novels. Emma-Lee Potter of The Independent listed it as the book with the strongest prose and character development out of 12 Indian novels “that everyone needs to read.”An acclaimed stage adaptation of the novel by the Tamasha Theatre Company was produced at the Hampstead Theatre in London in 2006 and later revived in 2007.