Such a Long Way is set in (what was then) Bombay against the backdrop of war in the Indian subcontinent and the birth of Bangladesh, telling the story of the peculiar way in which the conflict impinges on the lives of Gustad Noble, an ordinary man, and his family. Rohinton Mistry grew up in Bombay, India, where he also attended university. His debut novel, Such a Long Journey (1991), won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book and the Governor Generals Award, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It was made into an acclaimed feature film in 1998. His second novel, A Fine Balance (1995), won many prestigious awards, including the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, as well as being shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Irish Times International Fiction Prize. His collection of short stories, Tales from Firozsha Baag, was published in 1987. In 2002 Faber published Mistrys third novel, Family Matters, which was longlisted for the 2002 Booker.