India is a dream , a nightmare, renewing and rotting all at once.

I love being swept away into another country, world and/or reality. Reading for me is not only for entertainment but for education and blissful escape. Rohinton Mistry gives me satisfaction on all these levels with "A Fine Balance."

The story is deep and expands back and forth for decades. India has many levels of culture, religion, politics and economic systems that are so complex and mixed together it would seem practically impossible to describe. Yet Mistry manages to give us a wonderful insight into the multidimensional, complex and ancient system that is India. This is done in the simplest classical novel language. Anyone could enjoy this book.

The novel takes place during the turbulent and corrupt regime of Indira Ghandi. It is interesting to note, that her name is never mentioned in the book. She is referred to by her unflattering nicknames, but never referred to specifically. This gives the novel an "other worldly" quality which makes all the facts and history you learn easier to digest.

Learning about the brutal and desperate attempts of her regime to solve problems of over population, multitudes of homeless, beggars , pollution and the like was fascinating and shocking. As Americans we think "Oh how horrible that people could be treated in such a way!" I found myself, a relatively conservative individual, thanking God for our ACLU, raging bleeding heart liberals and a very aggressive free press, who provide wonderful checks and balances which prevent ( I hope) this type of corruption and amoral cruelty from being visited upon our citizenry. For now at least. Let's hope we maintain this balance.

Being a happy ignorant American, I had no idea what kind of a world India was during that regime. The incredibly difficult life of the un-priveledged masses is explored through the adventures of two remarkable taylors, Omprakash and Ishvar. They are descended from the lowest caste and through a series of interesting circumstances have been able to move from status of "un-touchable" to taylor. This transformation is fascinating in its explanation of India's special economy, interaction of Moslems and Hindus and the incredible endemic gulf between the "haves" and "have nots."

The story moves brilliantly from their excursion from their small village to the big city where they meet and work for an independent widow Dina Dalal. Due to their very low status on the economic scale, they are constantly at risk and victims of the political body governing at the time. Mrs. Dalal is a very complex woman determined to maintain her independence and economic freedom and needs these two taylors to do it. The three have a symbiotic relationship and the exploration of this gives brilliant insight into the complex and ancient mores and folkways that are uniquely Indian.

The addition of another character, Maneck a young student looking for a room to rent in the city gives balance to the other three characters and illuminates the intellectual tone of India at that time.

Many other incredibly colorful characters add to the tapestry and create a rich texture of this fine novel. I don't want to spoil your fun of discovery with descriptions of the other characters, they are just too fun to discover as you read.

The underlying truth of the novel is never de-railed. The proof of poverty and the human spirit's will to overcome adversity is a constant through out. The more complex truth that people will always pursue their own best interest is what creates the amazing adventures, cruel dilemma's and heart rending tenderness that is woven into this novel.

I loved every word written, each adventure, character, beauty and horror that was presented. I will read this novel several times and have been inspired to study more about the history of India. I'm also determined to go out and have a fine Indian meal, something I haven't done for years! I'm even thinking about learning a few Indian recipes from the book...they really sound delicious!! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Enjoy the discovery and surprises that await you.