Read this when
A Fine Balance
Mistry's advice for surviving a world that isn't fair: keep a fine balance between hope and despair. Bring tissues. Lots of them.
Who it's for
The novel slowly builds an unlikely household: a Parsi widow, two Dalit tailors fleeing caste violence and a homesick student, who begin as wary strangers and become something like family.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Rohinton Mistry's 1995 novel is set in an unnamed Indian city between 1975 and 1984, beginning during the Emergency. It brings together Dina Dalal, a widowed Parsi woman; Ishvar and his nephew Om, tailors whose family left their caste-assigned trade to escape untouchability; and Maneck Kohlah, a student who becomes Dina's boarder after meeting the tailors on a train.
Where to find it
In print; widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain.
Before you start
Heads up: Suicides and brutal caste violence.
Age: Ages 16+
You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Chapter X
