A Fine Balance (1995) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Dina Dalal: A beautiful woman in her forties, she runs a tailor shop in her apartment. Sister of Nusswan.
• Maneck: A young man from a little village in the mountains, as a student in the big city he lives with Dinabai.
• Ishvar: He is one of the two tailors who work for Dinabai, he is the uncle of Omprakash.
• Omprakash: He is one of the two tailors who work for Dinabai and is the nephew of Ishvar.
• Ashraf Chacha: Runs a tailoring shop and educated Ishvar and Omprakash in tailoring.
• Shankar: (aka Worm) A beggar whose life is woven into those of Ishvar & Omprakesh. He has no fingers/thumbs or legs and gets around on a wheeled platform.
• Narayan: Omprakash's father.
• Dukhi: Narayan's father.
• Beggarmaster: Controls all the beggars in the area.
• Rajaram: A crazy man whom Omprakesh and Ishvar get to know when they have to live in a slum. He collects hair and sells it for his livelihood.
• Avinash: Maneck's good friend who teaches him to play chess and later mysteriously disappears. President of the Student Union and Chairman of the Hostel Committee.
• Rustrom: Dinabai's dead husband, who left her his apartment.
• Ibrahim: Om's uncle.
• Zenobia: Dinabai's best friend, who helped her to find a lodger (Maneck) because otherwise Dina couldn't have afforded the apartment any longer. She is a hairdresser in the beauty parlour 'Venus'.
• Nawaz: Friend of Ashraf. Nawaz lets Isvar and Om sleep on his back porch while Ishvar and Om look for a job and lodging in the city by the sea.
• Papaji: Add a description of this character.
• Roopa: Married to Dukhi. Ishvar's and Narayan's Mother.
• Nusswan: Dinabai's older brother who 'cared' for Dina when their parents died. He dislikes the lifestyle of his younger sister because she never remarried when her husband died despite his best efforts.
• Mrs. Gupta: She is business woman in a big export enterprise (Au Revoir Exports) and she gives Dina orders for dresses and other clothing.
• Kesar
• Thakur Dharamsi: He is a man from the upper caste in the village where Ishvar and Om Prakash hail from. He is a cruel and heartless person who destroys the lives of Ishvar and Om Prakash terribly.
• Shirin Aunty: Shirin Aunty is the aunt of Rustum Dalal. Rustom is the late husband of Dina Dalal. Shirin aunty taught Dina sewing.
• Mrs. Shroff: Dina's maiden name was Dina Shroff. In the story Mrs. Shroff is referred to as her mother.
• Padma: Dukhi and Roopa's neighbor and friend of the family.
• Mumtaz Chachi: wife of Ashraf Chacha
• Mr. Valmik: Vasantrao Valmik. The prrofreader / layer that Maneck met on the train from his home to the city by the sea. Dina Dalal consults him on a legal matter regardng her apartment.
• Pandit Lalluram
• Navalkar
• Grewal
• Radha: Narayan's wife. Om's mother.
• Aban Kohlah: Mother of Manek
• Dulchi
• Hahnji
• Miriam: Dina's sister in law, married to Nusswan
• Xerxes: one of Dina's nephews
• Zarir: one of Dina's nephews

Quotes edit see section history

• “A shiver ran down her spine. She decided enough was enough. Flirting with madness was one thing; when madness started flirting back, it was time to call the whole thing off.”

• “'You know, Maneck, the human face has limited space. My mother used to say, if you fill your face with laughing, there will be no room for crying.''What a nice saying,' he answered bitterly.'Right now, Dinabai's face, and Om's, and mine are all occupied. Worrying about work and money, and where to sleep tonight. But that does not mean we are not sad. It may not show on the face, but it's sitting inside here.' He placed his hand over his heart. 'In here, there is limitless room - happiness, kindness, sorrow, anger, friendship - everything fits in here.'”

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• beyond them. Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping-stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.” He paused, considering what he had just said. “Yes,” he repeated. “In the end, it's all a question of balance.”

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• Please always remember, the secret of survival is to embrace change, and to adapt. To quote: ‘All things fall and are built again, and those that build them again are gay.’“

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• it was all part of living, that the secret of survival was to balance hope and despair, to embrace change.

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First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Rohinton Mistry (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Man Booker Prize (Finalist, 1996, shortlist)
• Giller Prize (1995)
• Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book (1996: Caribbean and Canada)
• Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book (1996: Overall)
• BBC's Big Read (April 2003, #196)
• International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (Finalist, 1997, Shortlist)
• CBC Canada Reads (Finalist, 2002)
• Los Angeles Times Book Prize (1996: Fiction)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

This book is written for mature readers as it contains some very confronting themes.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( M ) › Mistry, Rohinton
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

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