SOURCE: Goldblatt, Patricia. “Tailors Struggle in India.” English Journal 86, no. 2 (February 1997): 94.

In the following review of A Fine Balance, Goldblatt asserts that Mistry imbues his characters with noble strength despite their struggles against the pre-assigned cultural roles in which they are trapped.

Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance is the story of the heroic struggle of two tailors whose attempts at survival become the microcosm for all the suffering poor in India. It is through the eyes of the affable Ishvar and cynical Omprakash (Om) that we become encompassed in their tale, one painted in shades of green, brown, and ultimately black.

The story winds and unwinds to envelop strands from the tailors' present, past, and futures. When we first meet the two men, they are excited and nervous, hoping to secure jobs. Mistry soon fills in the background that has brought them to the city. We learn that...