A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

Published by Faber and Faber, 1996, hardcover, large format, 615 pages, condition: new.

A Fine Balance is the second novel by Rohinton Mistry. Set in "an unidentified city" in India, initially in 1975 and later in 1984 during the turmoil of The Emergency, the book focuses on four characters from varied backgrounds Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, his nephew Omprakash Darji, and the young student Maneck Kohlah who come together and develop a bond.

The novel won the 1995 Giller Prize. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1996. It was one of the only two Canadian books selected for Oprah's Book Club, and was one of the selected books in the 2002 edition of Canada Reads, championed by actress Megan Follows. In 2014, A Fine Balance was ranked in The Telegraph as one of the 10 all-time greatest Asian novels. Emma-Lee Potter of The Independent listed it as the book with the strongest prose and character development out of 12 Indian novels "that everyone needs to read.

Rohinton Mistry is an Indian-born Canadian writer. He has been the recipient of many awards including the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2012. Each of his first three novels was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His novels to date have been set in India, told from the perspective of Parsis, and explore themes of family life, poverty, discrimination, and the corrupting influence of society.