Rohinton Mistry's 'A Fine Balance'

I have this stack of used books I bought for a buck a piece at the Spencer Rotary Club Book Sale (just try doing that with your Kindle!) and I can't justify buying a new one until I deplete that stack. It's been harder than I expected -- you know how it is, buying something new is just more fun, and is certainly going to be a better something than the old something.

You can insert here a visual of the last time you stood in front of your closet full of clothes and said, "I don't have a thing to wear" if that helps you to conceptualize what I'm talking about.

What am I talking about? Oh yeah, "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry. The cover is torn and punctured in one spot, almost looks like a bite was attempted and then rejected. I reasoned that its previous owner must have a dog, an ornery little puppy maybe, which warmed me up to it instantly. In all honesty, the stack has had a pretty good yield so far, but this one made that $16 stack of books seem like a winning lottery ticket.

I have said before that reading, even fiction, is learning. I did not know much about India before I read this book, and now I am so intrigued by what I've learned that I want to learn more. A Fine Balance was first published in 1996, but it takes place in 1975. There are four main characters. Two of them are an uncle and his nephew from a small village that recognizes India's barbaric caste system as a social norm. One is a student from a tranquil mountain region who has grown up with hard working, civilized family and friends; but not without hard decisions and the turmoil of a changing environment. The other is a lady born and raised in an unnamed city. She tragically becomes a widow while still young enough to re-marry but she is defiant of that social expectation in a country that is not accommodating to single women.

Mistry artfully and passionately tells their stories both individually and eventually collectively as they all end up under one roof. It wasn't just a history lesson I got from this book, but also a glimpse of what it's like to be a survivor, how hard it can be to trust, how rewarding it can be to take that chance, and the dangers of an indoctrinated society.

Central to the story's plot is the political atmosphere in India in 1975. The Prime Minister is an unnamed woman who declares a state of emergency. During this Emergency there is strict media censorship and blatant disregard for constitutional and civil rights. Under the guise of ending poverty and the "beautification" of the country, city slums are mercilessly bulldozed without notice, displacing thousands to the streets. To control population, a forced sterilization program is initiated. The agencies created to oversee the initiative are assigned quotas. A system materializes that exemplifies a kill-or-be-killed environment.

If some of these things sound familiar to you; the mysterious anonymity of the city and the Prime Minister, the strife of the Emergency, the caste system; then pat yourself on the back for recognizing the ring of truth. This incredible work of fiction is based on the realities of Bombay under the reign of Indira Gandhi in 1975, and in remote areas of India, people are still discriminated against according to the caste system.

The four main characters I have outlined are not alone in this tale. There are others, with other accounts, and Mistry is such a gifted storyteller they all turn out to be interconnected. Do not take for granted the introduction of a seemingly unimportant incident, because eventually the correlation will be revealed, it will change everything and you will not have seen it coming. Reading this book felt like a slow, thoughtful awakening. Like all great books I've ever read, I feel different somehow. I think differently, I am enlightened. Cheesy, I know. I am a cheesy book nerd, but I loved this book, and I think everyone should read it.

And now my stack of used books, which started at 16, is down to seven. I think I have earned a trip to the Hill Ave Book Co. for a shiny new manuscript selected from the current list of bestsellers. Who knows, maybe there is another stellar one in that stack. For now I will just arrange them on their backs, largest to smallest like a pyramid, in the window seat next to my orchid and ta-da ... instant home décor (just try doing that with your Kindle!)