Last refreshed at 0600GMT Friday The best five books on everything | 30 July 2010

A Fine Balance

Rohinton Mistry
Image of A Fine Balance (Oprah's Book Club)

A Fine Balance is a great romp of a novel, set in western India. In a way, it’s a precursor of Slumdog Millionaire, but much darker, and without the all-singing all-dancing ending. I’ve included it in my pick of five books because of the Dickensian richness with which Rohinton Mistry deals with the lives of poor people.