40: A Fine Balance BR

Yesterday James finished classes!! Yay! We were going to celebrate by going out to eat but decided against after nothing sounded appetizing. So you know what this means!??!! More recipes, crafting, and couponing. I've been so afraid to buy things while we were here because I knew eventually I would not have any room in the car. It's bad enough I had to bring my wedding dress and my petticoat because we don't have a David's Bridal for alterations. Tomorrow morning we start our long journey home and I couldn't be happier. I am kinda sad that we have to learn all the really cool people we've met. Everyone lives so far away chances are, we will never see them again. :( Everyone's been so nice to us. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Well....maybe some things.... like hot water, no crazy insurance claim.



I finally finished my book which was so gripping at the end I couldn't put it down. Here's the low-down on A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.

Book Summary In My Own Words: 

A Fine Balance is a story about the Castes of India and the struggles of 4 very specific people. These characters start off with their own difficulties and come into contact with one another somehow. It tells the lives of two tailors ,Ishvar and Om, who seek work in a different city to escape prosecution after their family was brutally murdered for political reasons. They meet up with a woman who used to be a seamstress but is looking to hire independent contracts for sewing because her eyesight is deteriorating and she needs the income to avoid losing her flat. The fourth character, Maneck, is introduced as another way for her to pay for her flat through tenancy. The character's, despite their individual struggles, become to resemble a family which is then quickly desinigrated by the uprising of the "Emergency" in their government. ( I won't spoil the trials they go through individually but I will tell you they are pretty gruesome and heart-wrenching.) At the end they met up one finally time and realize that things will never be as they once were. Maneck is so intimidated by the way they have changed that he pretends he doesn't know the two tailors. 

Book Rating: 4/5

One of the better books I've read. The author really knows how to pull on your heart-strings. I nearly cried when I reached the end of the book which is funny given that the author does not thoroughly describe the characters. You don't really get a sense of what they look like but you get a sense of who they are based upon the decisions they make. I felt like I knew them personally. All in all, a great read for someone who is interested in other cultures. You might pick up a few words as well. 

Favorite Quotes:

"You see you cannot draw lines and compartments, and refuse to budge 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." pg. 228-229

"Stories of suffering are no fun when we are the main characters." pg. 377