Fine-Balance-Mistry
1997 Shortlist

A Fine Balance

ABOUT
THE BOOK

A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry’s stunning internationally acclaimed bestseller, is set in mid-1970s India. It tells the story of four unlikely people whose lives come together during a time of political turmoil soon after the government declares a “State of Internal Emergency.” Through days of bleakness and hope, their circumstances – and their fates – become inextricably linked in ways no one could have foreseen. Mistry’s prose is alive with enduring images and a cast of unforgettable characters. Written with compassion, humour, and insight, A Fine Balance is a vivid, richly textured, and powerful novel written by one of the most gifted writers of our time. (Penguin Random House Canada)

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Rohinton
Mistry

Mistry was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India in 1952, into a family that was part of the community of Bombay Parsis, a minority ethnic group originating from Iran, who practiced the Zoroastrian religion. He grew up in a typical Indian middle-class household; his father was an advertising executive and his mother worked inside the home. Mistry attended a Jesuit high school in Bombay and received a traditional British-style secondary education. He earned an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Bombay, where he studied alongside his future wife, Freny Elevy. Mistry then decided to emigrate with her to Canada in 1975 to seek further education and opportunities. He continued his education at the University of Toronto in English and Philosophy. Mistry’s early life in both India and Canada, as well as his experience of immigration, forms the backdrop for much of his fiction.

Mistry was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India in 1952, into a family that was part of the community of Bombay Parsis, a minority ethnic group originating from Iran, who practiced the Zoroastrian religion. He grew up in a typical Indian middle-class household; his father was an advertising executive and his mother worked inside the home. Mistry attended a Jesuit high school in Bombay and received a traditional British-style secondary education. He earned an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Bombay, where he studied alongside his future wife, Freny Elevy. Mistry then decided to emigrate with her to Canada in 1975 to seek further education and opportunities. He continued his education at the University of Toronto in English and Philosophy. Mistry’s early life in both India and Canada, as well as his experience of immigration, forms the backdrop for much of his fiction.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Date published
03/02/1997
Country
Canada, India
Original Language
English
Publisher
Faber & Faber

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