But, a la Steinbeck, the common man and woman endure, finding refuge and humanity through solidarity, through acts of kindness and love. How the protagonists breakthrough society-forged manacles, how they negotiate the fine line between "passion and foolishness, kindness and weakness," how they come to stand with mercy over cruelty, consideration over callousness is the novel's beating heart.
We're in this freak show together, "sailing under one flag," Mistry seems to be saying. The suffering can be overwhelming, human dignity continually beset by impersonal forces, but life can and does offer bittersweet moments, small and great triumphs.
Do they balance out, hope and despair? After Mistry's anything-but-sentimental ending, I'm still struggling with that, but I find that this line from one of the characters hits close to home: "Losing, and losing again, it is the very basis of the life process, till all we are left with is the bare essence of human existence."
Article comments
1 - Fran
Nice review. I loved the book too, while finding it so excruciating that I almost wanted to stop reading. The fine balance for me was between my horror at what would happen and my need to know what happened next.