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Review of A Fine Balance by A Reader
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-05 06:00:04.
(Language: English)
 
This book was passed along to me by Leena, my fellow PCV friend up in Mtubatuba. I was interested in reading it because it’s about India and I wanted to know about the place where my “family†comes from. Unfortunately, this book didn’t paint the rosiest picture for me. In fact, it broke my heart…over and over and over again. Sometimes it got to the point where I just couldn’t take it anymore and had to put the book down out of pure heartache for the characters in the book. But luckily, I had that luxury…of putting down the book and closing it when it became too difficult to bear. But the book isn’t about happy endings, it isn’t about despair either. It’s about the “fine balance†between the two of them. As one character in the book states, “You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.†With all of life’s sadness and hardships, one can always find pockets of hope and happiness. Similar to the quilt of Miss Dina Dilhal. It contained pieces of fabric from the dresses that she and her tailors had been working on throughout their time with her. Upon looking at the quilt, Dina notices a piece of fabric from a particularly difficult time for all of them. “get me the scissors…I’ll cut it out and throw it away.†But the tailor, Ishvar replied, “No no, Dinabai, let it be, it looks very nice in there…Calling one piece sad is meaningless. See, it is connected to a happy piece…and the next square.†Then he goes through the happy memories tied to the pieces connecting to that one sad piece and states, “so that’s the rule to remember, the whole quilt is much more important than any single square.†Unfortunately, not all of us are made strong enough to endure the difficult times in favour of the more happy ones. We lose hope and despair takes over. But those of us who do not lose hope, are always rewarded with happy moments, regardless of how desperate and sad our lives may seem. This is a book worth discussing at length, so if any of you do pick it up, and I HIGHLY recommend you do, give me a shout and we can chat about it sometime. 
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