A Burning by Megha Majumdar
Release: June 2nd 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Knopf
Source: Amazon
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For readers of Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Jhumpa Lahiri. An electrifying debut novel about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise. To the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies, and find their lives entangled in the wake of a catastrophe in contemporary India.
Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, determined to move up in life. She is accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is an opportunistic gym teacher who hitches his aspirations to a right-wing political party. He finds that his own ascent becomes linked to Jivan’s fall. Lovely, an irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth and hope and humor. She has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.
Taut, symphonic, propulsive, and riveting from its opening lines, A Burning has the force of an epic while being so masterfully compressed it can be read in a single sitting. Majumdar writes with dazzling assurance at a breakneck pace on complex themes. Themes that read here as the components of a thriller: class, fate, corruption, justice, and what it feels like to face profound obstacles and yet nurture big dreams in a country spinning toward extremism. An extraordinary debut.
About the Author
MEGHA MAJUMDAR was born and raised in Kolkata, India. She moved to the United States to attend college at Harvard University, followed by graduate school in social anthropology at Johns Hopkins University. She works as an editor at Catapult, and lives in New York City. A Burning is her first book.
A Burning Review:
I am speechless after reading this book. This is one of those stories that you will remember after reading. It beautifully highlights the problems we face as a society. It showcases so many problems like corruption, injustice, socio-economic, religious and political issues that is common in today’s society very nicely told in this novel. Moreover, you slowly see the how fate plays into the three characters. Lovely and PT Sir experience first hand how their career and lifestyle changes if they speak the truth versus giving the public what they want. However, unfortunately, Jivan becomes the scapegoat for the society. She has no power to stand her ground because she is from the slums.
Moreover, I can’t believe that this is the author’s debut novel. She has done such an amazing job in the storytelling. The book is relatively small which you can finish in on sitting. She beautifully narrates how Jivan’s life impacts Lovely and PT Sir, even though they don’t meet each other for most of the story. Also, the story never feels dull because the author narrates the tale from alternate point of views. Personally, I loved reading all the three characters. Moreover, I loved how Jivan’s life frashbacks to the incidents leading to her arrest through her interview with the media. My heart went out to Jivan and it was so difficult to read her storyline. Also, even Lovely’s storyline was very gripping! You see how society ostracizes her for being a hijra, and how she has to grab on to any opportunity to earn their respect.
Overall, If you are looking for a gripping, contemporary read, you should definitely read A Burning by Megha Majumdar.
