A towering masterpiece by a writer of genius.’ Independent India, 1975. An unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency. Amidst a backdrop of wild political turmoil, the lives of four unlikely strangers collide forever. An epic panorama of modern India in all its corruption, violence, and heroism, A Fine Balance is Rohinton Mistry’s prize-winning masterpiece: a Dickensian modern classic brimming with compassion, humour, and insight – and a hymn to the human spirit in an inhuman state. ‘A masterpiece of illumination and grace. Like all great fiction, it transforms our understanding of life.’ Guardian ‘Magical.’ New York Times ‘Monumental.’ Time ‘Astonishing.’ Wall Street Journal What readers are saying: ‘One of the most layered and beautifully executed books I’ve ever read … Easily one of my all time favourite books!’ ‘Many say that the mark of a good book is that it stays with you; well, I read this several years ago and I still find myself thinking of the characters … Beautiful.’ ‘What a storyteller, what a wide canvas he covers of India … Wonderful.’ ‘One of the best and most entertaining books I have ever read … I can’t recommend it highly enough.’ ‘Often heartbreaking, always evocative … A book to savour rather than to gallop through.’ ‘One of the best books I’ve read … Not a book for the faint-hearted, but it is a book with a big heart.’

About the Author

Rohinton Mistry was born in 1952 and grew up in Bombay, India, where he also attended university. In 1975 he emigrated to Canada, where he began a course in English and Philosophy at the University of Toronto. He is the author of three novels and one collection of short stories. His debut novel, Such a Long Journey (1991), won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book and the Governor General’s Award, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It was made into an acclaimed feature film in 1998. His second novel, A Fine Balance (1995), won many prestigious awards, including the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction and the Giller Prize, as well as being shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Irish Times International Fiction Prize. His collection of short stories, Tales from Firozsha Baag, was published in 1987.In 2002 Faber published Mistry’s third novel, Family Matters, which was longlisted for the 2002 Man Booker Prize.