A Fine Balance
Canadian novelist, born 1952.
A Fine Balance is a 1995 novel by Rohinton Mistry. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1996.
On 6 of the 18 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Rohinton Mistry
- First published
- 1995
- Length
- 624 pages (UK paperback)
- Awards
- Booker Prize shortlist, 1996
- Genre
- Literary fiction, Political, Class and society
Is A Fine Balance worth reading?
6 of the 18 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian) and The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian).
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.co.uk, 2014) | Listed | See the list |
| Booker Prize (winners and shortlists) (Booker Prize Foundation, 1996) | Shortlist | See the list |
| Oprah's Book Club picks (Oprah's Book Club, 1996-) | Listed | See the list |
| Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 41 | See the list |
| The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 49 | See the list |
| The Big Jubilee Read (BBC Arts and The Reading Agency, 2022) | Listed | See the list |
Best edition of A Fine Balance
The edition we link to is the Faber & Faber paperback (2006), 624 pages.
- Publisher
- Faber & Faber (paperback, 2006)
- Pages
- 624
- ISBN
- 9780571230587
How critics, prizes and readers rate A Fine Balance
Readers rate it most highly: it earned 56% of the points available on readers' and booksellers' lists, against 33% on prize lists and 11% on critics' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like A Fine Balance
If you liked A Fine Balance, try Catch-22, Wolf Hall or Midnight's Children.
