"A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry

Country: India
Written in: 1995
Pages: 603

This is a longer book so be sure to get started early! While this isn't an older 'classic', I can't search great literature from India without coming across this book.

A snippet of the summary from Britannica:
The epic scale of the novel confronts the ruthless brutality of class and caste as the protagonists are left vulnerable to the vagaries of poverty and discrimination. The novel meticulously recreates Indira Gandhi’s India, and the author uses this context to present a paradoxically humane vision of inhumanity.
Rigorously unsentimental and full of black humor, A Fine Balance takes the reader through a vicious and sometimes carnivalesque world of poverty and utter powerlessness. The novel’s harrowing denouement is as shocking and as distressing as anything in 20th-century literature. Perhaps Mistry’s greatest achievement is his clear-sighted depiction of relentless, impersonal brutality in a story of lives torn apart not by individual weakness but by institutional inequity and the horrors of corrupt power. The genius of the novel lies in its refusal to allow the reader to escape to either pathos or cynicism.

*****
New to the Hungry Hundred Book Club? Here's what you need to know:

1. Read the book (If you don't manage to finish it by the meetup date, don't worry. As long as you're not going to be too disappointed by spoilers, you're still welcome to join.)
2. Come to the meeting, usually (but not always!) on the last Sunday of every month.
3. Be prepared to order food/drink at the venue to show our appreciation for letting us use their space. This is a requirement. A lot of time and effort has been put into finding a place that will accommodate our group without an outrageous minimum charge or rental fee, and you'll never be asked to contribute to organiser fees, so please show your respect and support for the restaurant that's letting us use their space.
4. Discuss! It's a casual conversation, so don't be afraid to ask questions and let us know what you think.