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Rohinton Mistry

ロヒントン・ミストリー

Rohinton Mistry

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1952-00-00 （Bombay (now Mumbai), India）
Nationality
Indian, Canadian
Languages
English
Religion
Parsi (Zoroastrian)
Residence History
Bombay (Mumbai) → Toronto, Canada → Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Short story writer
Active Years
1983-
Memberships
Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)

Education

St. Xavier's College, Bombay
Mathematics and Economics
Degree: BA
Country: India
BA in Mathematics and Economics (Bombay)
University of Toronto
Woodsworth College / English and Philosophy
Degree: BA
Country: Canada
Later obtained a BA in English and Philosophy at the University of Toronto

Awards

Hart House Literary Contest
1983
Work: Short story "One Sunday"
Organization: Hart House (University of Toronto)
Result: winner
Hart House Literary Contest
1984
Work: Short story "Auspicious Occasion"
Organization: Hart House (University of Toronto)
Result: winner
Annual Contributors' Prize
1985
Work: Contributor's work
Organization: Canadian Fiction Magazine
Result: winner
Governor General's Award
1991
Work: Such a Long Journey
Organization: Governor General of Canada
Result: winner
Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Best Book)
1991
Work: Such a Long Journey
Category: Best Book
Organization: Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Result: winner
W.H. Smith / Books in Canada First Novel Award
1991
Work: Such a Long Journey
Organization: W.H. Smith / Books in Canada
Result: winner
Trillium Award
1991
Work: Such a Long Journey
Organization: Ontario literary awards committee
Result: shortlist
Giller Prize
1995
Work: A Fine Balance
Organization: Giller Prize
Result: winner
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Fiction)
1995
Work: A Fine Balance
Category: Fiction
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: winner
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
1996
Work: A Fine Balance
Organization: Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Result: winner
Booker Prize
1996
Work: A Fine Balance
Organization: Booker Prize
Result: shortlist
Booker Prize
2002
Work: Family Matters
Organization: Booker Prize
Result: shortlist
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
2002
Work: Family Matters
Organization: University of Edinburgh / James Tait Black
Result: shortlist
International Dublin Literary Award
2004
Work: Family Matters
Organization: Dublin City
Result: shortlist
Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
2010
Organization: Royal Society of Literature
Result: elected
Neustadt International Prize for Literature
2012
Organization: Neustadt Prize
Result: winner
Member of the Order of Canada (CM)
2016
Organization: Governor General of Canada
Result: appointed
Brampton Arts Walk of Fame
Organization: City of Brampton
Result: inducted

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Such a Long Journey

1991 Novel / Realism, Postcolonial

Set in Mumbai, the novel explores family life, political turmoil, discrimination and corruption through the protagonist's experiences in late-1970s India.

familypolitical corruptiondiscriminationurban life
Adaptations
  • [Film] Such a Long Journey / Sturla Gunnarsson (1998)
Translations
  • German translation
  • Swedish translation
  • Norwegian translation
  • Danish translation
  • Japanese translation

A Fine Balance

1995 Novel / Realism, Postcolonial

Set in 1970s India, the book follows people from different backgrounds whose lives intersect, depicting friendship, tragedy, and social inequality.

povertyfriendshipsocial injusticefate

Family Matters

2002 Novel / Realism

A novel about an aging father and his family, sensitively portraying aging, care, and familial bonds and conflicts.

agingfamilycaregiving

Tales from Firozsha Baag

1987 Short story collection

A collection of 11 stories set in an apartment complex in Mumbai, warmly portraying daily life and relationships within the Parsi community.

communityeveryday lifeimmigrant experience

Bibliography

  • Tales from Firozsha Baag (1987)
  • Such a Long Journey (1991)
  • A Fine Balance (1995)
  • Family Matters (2002)
  • The Scream (2006)
  • Searching for Stevenson (1994)

Adaptations

  • Such a Long Journey (film, 1998)

Translations of Works

  • Such a Long Journey (translated into German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Japanese, etc.)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
detailed realist descriptionclose attention to characters' interior livesstories structured against social and political backdrops
Recurring Motifs
family and bondspoverty and survivaldiscrimination and marginalizationdetails of everyday life

Legacy

Rohinton Mistry, an Indian-born Canadian writer, is internationally acclaimed for powerful narratives on family, poverty and discrimination. His major works have been widely translated and attract both academic and popular attention.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)

Archives

  • Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections (York University)

In Popular Culture

  • A Fine Balance was selected for Oprah's Book Club (2001)

Trivia

  • Emigrated to Canada in 1975 with his wife Freny Elavia.
  • His brother is playwright and author Cyrus Mistry.
  • Such a Long Journey was adapted into a film in 1998.
  • A Fine Balance was selected for Oprah's Book Club.
  • Cancelled a U.S. book tour in 2002 citing profiling by security agents at airports.
  • Literary papers are held at the Clara Thomas Archives (York University).