Welcome to Litsy!

A good book for discussion. It is very bleak but it tells a good story. 🇮🇳

This was a hard book to get through the first time I'd read it and it was still hard this second time around, because of the emotions it puts its readers through. I feel emotionally wrung out, but it it really is a great story.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#192025 #1995 @Librarybelle
#ChunksterChallenge2024 @Amiable
#1001
#gottacatchemall @PuddleJumper (prompt : “79. Cursola: Found family“)

My #bookerdozen 6 are winners, 6 were shortlisted. Tagged is my favorite of all 12, although Midnights Children and The Bone People are only a hairs breath in difference of love (and those two won), followed by The Trees. What are yours?

A beautifully told story about four lives, their harshness and their interconnectedness. Focusing on the delicate bond of friendship, the book tells us about the unequal distribution of power, the inhumanity of politics and business, and thus our own set of rules, aka the system, we have established and chosen to live with in „peace“.

22nd of 2023

Disclaimer :This is a strictly personal preference of mine.

Picked book because as a literature graduate it's expected of me to be familiar with it.
Honestly, I didn't feel it was as gripping as it was taunted to be.
A lot of topics were touched upon, but not to further the plot or aid in making the reader engrossed on it. Most of the details felt extraneous & thrust upon a reader who had a lukewarm response to the entire thing.

It‘s a fine balance between hope and despair. A (perhaps perfect) novel about the power of human connection to overcome the relentless despair of a troubled world. Don‘t read this book if you want to be happy. Do read this book if you want to read great literature.

My bike ride took me along a gorgeous trail with the country on one side and some residential areas on the other. I mostly stuck to the path itself, since it was too awesome to quit, but the one time I popped off it to check out a small park I also found this great Little Free Library! I love a well-stocked LFL, even when I don‘t take anything.

Beautiful but long novel, I promise it‘s worth it.

Fun fact, his wife was an English teacher at my school!

This one has stuck with me through the years! Highly recommend- such a vivid picture of India in the 1970s.

#letterf
#AlphabetGame
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#BookMoods Day 7: This tome has #600PlusPages in total. Perfect for our #DecolonizeBookshelves2022 reading theme.

Maneck (student), Dina (independent woman), Om & Ishvar (tailors) live together during the India Emergency.

This book is a masterpiece. One I will not soon forget. At the same time, it is not one that I will lovingly choose to reread. It is tragic,wild and hopeless. There are brief glimmers of happiness. One such part involved a meal eaten together by people of different castes. Recognizing that some guests did not use forks, the hostess joined in with her fingers. Themes: injustice, politics in India, greed, women,culture. Not a fine balance to me.

Next IRL Book Club choice. Another chunkster! And I can‘t support my effort with audio. Not available on Hoopla or Libby. Not sure if this is going to put me in the Holiday Spirit! 🤔😂🤷🏼‍♀️

#FallTreasures - A Gifted Book: Occasionally someone gives you a book for no reason at all. You are surprised because that person is not a reader and, yet, somehow they managed to pick out a really good book. I had kind of given up on Oprah‘s Book Club by the time that this book was published and then released in paperback because Oprah was always recommending sorrow-filled broke-down stories filled with sad and stuck people.👇🏽

Man, this was bleak. After getting to know these characters and seeing all the ways they‘re connected, you hope for a positive ending for at least one of them— but no such luck. I was actually kind of relieved when it was over so I can get away from all the sadness. TW for animal deaths.

I didn‘t want this book to end and now that it has I am feeling very empty. It‘s rare for me to mourn the end of a book but that‘s how deeply I felt for these characters. Stunning! ♥️

One of those rare, deeply affecting, carefully plotted, gorgeously written novels that truly everyone should read. The story of 4 very different people thrown together in 1970s India during Emergency, it‘s tragic with moments of comedy & flashes of joy. I spent some time learning about the time period & the caste system in India, & through my reading journey became friends with these characters. I was left sobbing & amazed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#1001books

A work colleague gave me this book, I read it on holiday. It follows the lives of 4 different characters in modern India. Its about the corruption and misery of life whilst being completely mesmerizing and engrossing. As it reaches it's climax I dare you to try and put it down! I sat on a beach in Majorca, oblivious to all else until I had finished it then I sat on the beach and sobbed. It isn't over sentimental however... just read it.

Just placed a last minute Independent Bookstore Day order! I had never heard of A Fine Balance, but saw someone post about it on a Facebook group today and saw that it has a 4.34 rating on Goodreads out of 135k reviews, so seemed like a must try! And I've been excited for Turton's new book since finishing 7 1/2 Deaths!

A towering masterpiece. One of the best novels about india. The story had me gripped. Everyone should read it.

Almost finished. On page 524. What a novel!!!

Enjoyed so far. On page 353.

A tragic, heart-breaking, brilliantly written book. The writing is beautiful and provoking, the character descriptions are rich, and the story poignant. It teaches you about the resilience of humanity, hope, and ironically at the same time, a lot about grief & how we each shoulder it in our own specific way. The narrator of the audiobook was phenomenal. Note, this is on BBC‘s list of 100 books to read before you die, and I could not agree more.

I started this promising book by Rohinton Mistry. Just having completed the first chapter I found the descriptions so wonderfully written, it paints a mental picture! Can‘t wait to read more. Thanks @nishaagni for the wonderful recommendation (again).

1. Book tagged
2. Halloween Pic of my son & his daughter
3. I‘m going with Carrie .... I saw it in college & it was pretty amazing .... the cinema closed years ago ... the memories are precious

Thanks @erzascarletbookgasm for the tag
Hi 👋 Sherri @Eggs

#WondrousWednesday

‘One day you must tell me your full and complete story, unabridged and unexpurgated. You must. We will set aside some time for it, and meet. It‘s very important.‘
Maneck smiled. ‘Why is it important ? ‘
Mr. Valmiks‘s eyes grew wide. ‘You don‘t know ?
It‘s extremely important because it helps to remind yourself of who you are. Then you can go forward, without fear of losing yourself in this ever-changing world.‘

I‘m left with sorrow & wonder.

Thankyou ! @KVanRead for the tag

1. Historical/fiction/human/ characters/love
2. Well , maybe more than a day ... but I do love a bit of shopping ... books , clothes ... online these days
3. Oh , back to the year my father was born ... early 1900‘s
#wondrouswednesday
I tag @JillR @TrishB @squirrelbrain @JennyM
Hi Sherri 😘 @Eggs

I‘m on chapter 6 & this one is going well ... although I don‘t think I‘ve ever cried so much over a story ... very good ✨✨✨✨✨

Wow. This was a GREAT read. Horribly horribly grim, but compelling and fantastic character development.

And scored a line in #bookspinbingo with this in the September board and another on August 😁 @TheAromaofBooks

How does one define tragedy? What quantifies as "true suffering"? How do people who've experienced such hardships, find hope amidst all the darkness?

This book made me confront all these questions. Such a heartbreaking book, an ode to the suffering life dishes up.

This book is about a group of down on luck people who come together out of compulsion, but stay together out of love.

There's so much tragedy here. Not for the faint of heart!

1) The tagged book is one of my all time favorites.
2) Yes - Jhumpa Lahiri and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni to name two.
3) Love Indian food and all the vegan options 🌱 We‘re lucky to have lots of great choices near us. One of our favorites is called Curry Up Now! 😊

Happy Independence Day! 🇮🇳 @Blackink_WhitePaper

Tagging @ChasingOm and @Emilymdxn and anyone else who wants to join. #IntegrateYourShelf

Thanks for the tag @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick
#Indianindependenceday
@Blackink_WhitePaper

1. I have lots to choose from but I tagged my favorite.
2. Lol. Yes. I like books about other cultures.
3. Yes.Samosas are my favorite. But I'll eat anything.

🇮🇳 1. Tagged! I loved this book by Rohinton Mistry. The heavy themes of the novel in the hands of another author might have turned me off but Mistry got it just right IMO. 🧐

🇮🇳 2. I‘ve read and enjoyed many other books by Indian authors. Too many to name!😀

🇮🇳 3. I love Indian food! I particularly appreciate how easy it is to eat lots of vegetables dishes. 😋

Thanks for the tag @Klou 😍

1. A Fine Balance- it's been years since I read this book but I still think about it.
2. I'm sure I have but Rohinton Mistry is the one coming to mind.
3. I love Indian food! I really love indian buffets because they give you a chance to try lots of different things
@Blackink_WhitePaper
#indianindependenceday
@Jerdencon @4thhouseontheleft

Hi, just completely demolish my faith in humanity why don‘t you? I need more time to chew on this but 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Speaking very strongly to the nostalgic in me.

Burning the midnight oil, trying to get through this for Zoom Book Club on Thursday.

Just begun while I do some home Renovations and the like. Really draws you in. And I love John Lee as a narrator.

#7days7books Day 6: Books that have had a deep impact and changed me. Can‘t keep track of who is already participating but tagging @Erofan and @andrew61

Reread this masterpiece again. Hats off Rohinton Mistry for creating such wonderful charecters. Dina, Ishvar, Omprakash, Maneck. They will all stay with me for the rest of my life. I know I will be reading it again and again. Such a great book.

LOL🤣🤣🤣🤣

Reareading A fine balance.
One of my all time favourite.
"Stories of suffering are no fun when we are the main characters"

A compelling and moving book that depicts the lives of the powerless during the State of Emergency in India, mid 1970s. I was outraged by many parts- the cruel caste system, corruptions, violent deaths, and oppressive government policies attacking the poor and homeless such as slums wipe-out, forced sterilisations.. ⬇️

#chunksterchallenge2020
#Booked2020 #SetInIndiaSouthernAsia
#jennyis30 #literary

The four main characters in the novel constantly juggle, adapt, and balance, as they navigate their lives. Survival is a balancing act.

The genius of Mistry‘s writing. There are horrific instances balanced with fleeting moments of happiness and hope.

#chunksterchallenge2020

#currentread

One of the many striking quotes in the tagged book.

Now that I‘ve caught up with #Shakespearereadalong for the week, I want to make a dent on the tagged book. There‘s a struggling widow trying to make ends meet, two poor, of low-caste tailors looking for a living in a big city, and a university student who left his hometown to pursue his studies. These four unlikely characters‘ lives come together amidst a political upheaval. Beautiful writing!

#chunksterchallenge2020

I went on a Super Bowl Avoidance Tour tonight, since it‘s kinda awkward when your living room is full of football people and you aren‘t invested enough to hang out with them. First stop: my local Goodwill, which just reopened after a fire destroyed it last March! Some areas were still pretty sparse, but they had plenty of books, none of which I bought. (I did get awesome gloves for $1.25.)