Whilst on holiday in England recently, I searched the charity shops in Clacton, Walton, Frinton, Brentwood, Chelmsford and Colchester, (all in Essex), for World Book Night Books. I found this one in the "Mind" Charity shop for £1.50. I'm not sure if this shop was in Brentwood or Frinton, or any of the other towns. I will read it and then lend it out to my friends. I couldn't find a bookcrossing number written anywhere inside the book, so I'm registering it myself. Since this is a World Book Night book, then I will copy the WBN information from another book, and put it here, including the WBN logo.


Amazon Editorial Review
With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism, of India. The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village--will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.

As the characters move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, A Fine Balance creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state.

Dear Reader

Welcome to BookCrossing and thanks for being a part of World Book Night 2011, the largest book giveaway in history. 1,000,000 specially printed copies of 25 different books changed hands on March 5th 2011 and began their journey from reader to reader. This book is one of them. World Book Night has joined with BookCrossing to help track these books as they travel. You can be a part of that journey by making a comment in the book's journal here on BookCrossing. Your journal entry can say how you got the book, what you thought of it, your plans for it or whatever else you might like to add.

On BookCrossing you may choose to remain anonymous or join (it's free). If you join, you’ll be alerted by e-mail each time someone makes another journal entry for this specific copy of this book (other copies of the book are travelling with their own ID number. Every copy of every book has a unique ID). It’s all confidential (you’re known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address) and spam-free.

Thanks in advance for being part of World Book Night and BookCrossing. And happy

This book is being released via BookCrossing on 5 March 2011 as part of the inaugural World Book Night. With the full support of the Publishers Association, the Booksellers Association, the Independent Publishers Guild, the Reading Agency with libraries, World Book Day and the BBC, one million books will be given away by an army of passionate readers to members of the public across the UK and Ireland.

Read and release!

I wanted to get this book finished and I just finished it now, at almost 3am!! It drew me in, and I didn't want to put it down as I was curious to know how it would end.
It is the story of 4 main characters who are completely different from each other, in likes and wants and thoughts. They overcome their differences to live together in Dina's flat for a year, and they became a sort of family, (but this was short-lived!)

This book was not easy for me to read because of all the descriptions of violence, poverty, squalor and misery that took place during mid-1970's India. Where the rich and those in power bullied, maimed and tortured the poor and weak people to get what they wanted.

I quite liked the end chapter where Maneck thinks back to old times and remembers how things were, and feels sad that things have to change. I often feel and think that way too!

Anyway, if you can read to the end, through all 613 pages then you will discover that the ending takes an unexpected turn!

Yesterday I had an expat meet-up and I showed my World Book Night box of books to all these friends from English speaking lands, who live here in The Netherlands. The result was amazing. Every single book got taken home by someone, (to be returned at a later date, so that I can lend them out again). I know English books are hard to come by here, but these friends are all apparently STARVED of English books!!!!

Most people made a "catch" journal entry here before they left, using my computer, with me standing over them to make sure we got those journal entries!!! There was a computer here .....so why not!!! So many release notes to be made and so many JE's afterwards that I got too tired. So left some Almelo people until today, as the Almelo expats are coming together again today for coffee!!

This book went home with Lindsay from Aalderinkshoek, Almelo.
Enjoy!

Hi, Lindsay here. I have started reading this book.

I liked the book although it was hard to read about such bad times. It was quite a slog to get through over 600 pages. I only just finished it as I'm not a quick reader. I kept saying I won't take another book to read, but now I think I will anyway, haha. I miss not reading!
Lyndsay

I received this book back today from Lyndsay, at an expat meeting. I knew it was a harrowing book for someone to read, but I'm glad it was enjoyed by Lyndsay, nethertheless! I now have a box of 2012 WBN titles to lend out, although they are so hard to get and I don't have them all. So I'm going to be promoting that 2012 box and retiring this 2011 box for a while until all the 2012 titles are out with new readers!

I will leave this on top of one of the petrol pumps.

Hallo daar, gelukkige vinder!
Wat leuk dat je op deze pagina bent komen kijken. Als je dit leest, heb je een boek gevonden, zomaar een onverwacht kadootje van mij voor jou... Veel plezier ermee! Hierbij trouwens wat spelregels mbt bookcrossing:

1. Het zou fijn zijn als je meldt dat het veilig bij jou is. Dat mag gewoon in het Nederlands.
2. Daarna kun je het boek gaan lezen en als je wilt nog eens schrijven wat je ervan vond.
3. Mag het boek verder reizen, geef het dan door aan iemand anders, of laat het zomaar ergens weer achter, liefst op een veilige, droge plek. Je kunt via de bookcross-site ook weer melden waar je het hebt neergelegd, zodat anderen ernaar op zoek kunnen gaan...
TIP: Als je het boek op zijn reis wilt volgen, dan kun je je het beste aanmelden als nieuwe bookcrosser (www.bookcrossing.com). Het is erg leuk om erachter te komen hoe het met 'jouw' boek op z'n reis verder gaat!!
Ik zou het erg leuk vinden als je mij chamonix44 dan opgeeft als referent. Voor Nederlandse uitleg kun je terecht op de volgende site: www.bookcrossing.nl

If you are reading here, then I want to tell you that this is a. FREE . book, and there are no catches! It is now yours! Please read on.....
If you are the finder of this book it would be nice if you could leave a message here to say that you have it. Do not worry because I don't want the book back. It is yours to keep if you want it. I just want to know it is now in safe hands.