A Fine Balance


Book Description

A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry’s stunning internationally acclaimed bestseller, is set in mid-1970s India. It tells the story of four unlikely people whose lives come together during a time of political turmoil soon after the government declares a “State of Internal Emergency.” Through days of bleakness and hope, their circumstances – and their fates – become inextricably linked in ways no one could have foreseen. Mistry’s prose is alive with enduring images and a cast of unforgettable characters. Written with compassion, humour, and insight, A Fine Balance is a vivid, richly textured, and powerful novel written by one of the most gifted writers of our time.




Family Matters


Book Description

Set in Bombay in the mid-1990s, Family Matters tells a story of familial love and obligation, of personal and political corruption, of the demands of tradition and the possibilities for compassion. Nariman Vakeel, the patriarch of a small discordant family, is beset by Parkinson’s and haunted by memories of his past. He lives with his two middle-aged stepchildren, Coomy, bitter and domineering, and her brother, Jal, mild-mannered and acquiescent. But the burden of the illness worsens the already strained family relationships. Soon, their sweet-tempered half-sister, Roxana, is forced to assume sole responsibility for her bedridden father. And Roxana’s husband, besieged by financial worries, devises a scheme of deception involving his eccentric employer at a sporting goods store, setting in motion a series of events that leads to the narrative’s moving outcome. Family Matters has all the richness, the gentle humour, and the narrative sweep that have earned Mistry the highest of accolades around the world.




Such a Long Journey


Book Description

It is Bombay in 1971, the year India went to war over what was to become Bangladesh. A hard-working bank clerk, Gustad Noble is a devoted family man who gradually sees his modest life unravelling. His young daughter falls ill; his promising son defies his father’s ambitions for him. He is the one reasonable voice amidst the ongoing dramas of his neighbours. One day, he receives a letter from an old friend, asking him to help in what at first seems like an heroic mission. But he soon finds himself unwittingly drawn into a dangerous network of deception. Compassionate, and rich in details of character and place, this unforgettable novel charts the journey of a moral heart in a turbulent world of change.




Tales from Firozsha Baag


Book Description

In these eleven stories, Rohinton Mistry opens our eyes and our hearts to the rich, complex patterns of life inside Firozsha Baag, an apartment building in Bombay. Here are Jaakaylee, the ghost-seer, and Najamai, the only owner of a refrigerator in Firozsha Baag; Rustomji the Curmudgeon and Kersi, the young boy whose life threads through the book and who narrates the final story as an adult in Toronto. We see their passions, their worst fears, their betrayals, and their humorous acts of revenge. Witty and poignant, in turns, these intersecting stories create a finely textured mosaic of lives and illuminate a world poised between the old ways and the new.




Swimming Lessons


Book Description

Firozsha Baag is an apartment building in Bombay. Its ceilings need plastering and some of the toilets leak appallingly, but its residents are far from desperate, though sometimes contentious and unforgiving. In these witty, poignant stories, Mistry charts the intersecting lives of Firozsha Baag, yielding a delightful collective portrait of a middle-class Indian community poised between the old ways and the new. "A fine collection...the volume is informed by a tone of gentle compassion for seemingly insignificant lives."--Michiko Kakutani, New York Times




Rohinton Mistry


Book Description

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. The award-winning novelist Rohinton Mistry is recognised as one of the most important contemporary writers of postcolonial literature. This study - the first of its kind - will provide scholars and students with an insight into the key features of Mistry's work. Peter Morey suggests how the author's writing can be read in terms of recent Indian political history, his native Zoroastrian culture and ethos, conventions of oral storytellling common to Persia and South Asia, and the experience of migration which now sees him living in Canada. The texts are viewed through the lens of diaspora and minority discourse theories to show how Mistry's writing is illustrative of marginal positions in relation to sanctioned national identities.




Rohinton Mistry


Book Description

Rohinton Mistry has provided some of the most sustained explorations of post-Independence Indian society through his chronicles of individual and community lives. Mistry`s fiction covers many themes, from politics to Parsi community life and economic inequality to national `events` such as wars, rigorously examining the impact of historical forces and social events on `small` lives. Nandini Bhautoo-Dewnarain`s study, a schematic introduction to Mistry`s works, looks at the process of marginalization or `Othering` in his fiction. Exploring Mistry`s themes of tradition, ageing and families, Bhautoo-Dewnarain demonstrates how his fiction moves from the local to the universal. Contents Series Editor`s Preface 1. Introduction 2. The Local and the Universal 3. `Otherness` in Mistry 4. Politics in Mistry`s Fiction 5. Recurring Themes 6. Rohinton Mistry and Indian Writing in English Topics for Discussion Appendix A: The 1975 Emergency Appendix B: MISA Appendix C: The History of the Bangladesh Conflict Appendix D: List of Honours and Awards Bibliography




The Scream


Book Description

Rohinton Mistry is arguably Canada’s most beloved and popular writer. His fiction has won prestigious prizes in Canada and around the world. The Oprah’s Book Club selection of his novel A Fine Balance increased Mistry’s already large audience in North America, and in Canada alone to more than a quarter of a million readers. He is working on a new novel, as yet unscheduled, but this delicious little book will be savoured by Mistry’s hungry and devoted fans. The Scream is a single story by Rohinton Mistry, to date his shortest book! And what a gem it is. Set in a Bombay apartment, The Scream is narrated by a man at the end of his life, who is angry at the predicament of old age, at his isolation from his family and from a world that no longer understands him. He rails and raves in ways that are both hilarious and moving, and which touch us with recognition. Printed originally in a limited edition of 150 copies that was sold exclusively by World Literacy of Canada as a fundraiser for their organization, The Scream was exquisitely produced and featured original artwork by the celebrated Canadian artist Tony Urquhart. This is the first trade edition of this treasure, which will retain beautiful production values as well as all of Tony Urquhart’s colourful, dynamic artwork, which was inspired by the story. This gorgeous little book is a must-have for all of Rohinton Mistry’s fans, for their own shelves as a collector’s item and as the perfect gift.




The Novels of Rohinton Mistry


Book Description

Contributed articles on the works of Rohinton Mistry, b. 1952, Indian born Canadian author.




The Fiction of Rohinton Mistry


Book Description

Rohinton Mistry, The Socio-Political Novelist Has Emerged As A Formidable Writer On The World Literary Scene. This Book Presents A Wide Spectrum Of Critical Responses To Mistry`S Fiction.