Rohinton Mistry
Author of A Fine Balance
About the Author
Rohinton Mistry was born in Bombay in 1952 and immigrated to Canada in 1975. He began writing stories in 1983 while a student at the University of Toronto. His books recount everyday life in India. Titles include Tales From Firozsha Baag, a collection of short stories, and A Fine Balance, a novel. show more Mistry's first novel, Such a Long Journey, received several awards, including the Governor General's Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book. It was also shortlisted for the Booker Prize and for the Trillium Award. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Eye on Books
Works by Rohinton Mistry
Searching for Stevenson 3 copies
The Ghost of Firozsha Baag 1 copy
Passages 1 copy
"Condolence Visit," "Lend Me Your Light" and "The Collectors" [I] in Coming Attractions (Vol. 4) (1st Edition) (1986) 1 copy
Fine Balance *Oprah #44 1 copy
Associated Works
Freedom: Stories Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2009) — Contributor — 73 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1952-07-03
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- India (birth)
Canada (immigrated) - Country (for map)
- India
- Birthplace
- Bombay, India
- Places of residence
- Mumbai, India
Brampton, Ontario, Canada - Education
- University of Mumbai (BA | 1975 | St. Xavier's College | Mathematics ∙ Economics)
University of Toronto (BA | English | Philosophy) - Occupations
- writer
- Awards and honors
- Timothy Findley Award (2005)
Neustadt International Prize for Literature (2012) - Agent
- Lucinda Vardey (Lucinda Vardey Agency)
Members
Discussions
A Fine Balance Group Read: July 2013 in 75 Books Challenge for 2013 (August 2013)
Reviews
Lists
Five star books (2)
1970s Narratives (1)
1990s (1)
Favourite Books (1)
Unread books (1)
Big Jubilee List (1)
BBC Big Read (1)
To Read (1)
A Novel Cure (1)
Urban Fiction (1)
All Things India (3)
Booker Prize (3)
BBC Big Read (1)
AP Lit (1)
Sense of place (1)
Asia (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 14
- Also by
- 13
- Members
- 14,108
- Popularity
- #1,634
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 349
- ISBNs
- 176
- Languages
- 16
- Favorited
- 105
The book is grim and has moments of utter despair, pure bad luck, and unfairness. There are despicable characters, horrible deaths, and plenty of squalor. Usually I can't stomach a book like this. However, Mistry somehow balances this with some good, some lighthearted moments, and impressive writing. I was completely invested from the first chapter and just had to see where it was all going to end up. I don't think, in a book like this, it's a spoiler to say that things do not end well for all the characters. It's clear from the get go that a book this realistic will not have a fairy tale ending - though I did keep hoping for one. And I suppose that's where the title comes in. Life is "a fine balance" of hope and despair. In 1970s India, if Mistry's portrayal is at all accurate, this is all too true.… (more)