A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
I think this has skipped to the top of my favourites list for the year so please anyone who has an interest in Indian culture give this a go! However, it is one of the bleakest books I have read in a long time so prepare to be depressed. Set against the backdrop of 1970s India, it is the story of four people whose lives cross paths - a naive student from the North, a middle aged Parsi widow maintaining a tenuous independence from her overbearing family and an uncle and nephew, both Hindu tailors of an 'untouchable' caste. While telling the story of their lives Mistry touches on the injustices of the caste system, details the monstrosities committed by Indira Gandhi's Government and documents the Muslim and Sikh riots of the 70s. The story is beautifully intricate and horribly tragic - I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
