A Burning
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- Create Date：2021-09-07 02:41:14
- Update Date：2025-09-24
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- Author：Megha Majumdar
- ISBN：0593081250
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Summary
A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK！
A New York Times Notable Book
A National Book Award Longlist honoree and "gripping thriller with compassionate social commentary" （USA Today）
Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums， determined to move up in life， who 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 and 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--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 is 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。
A New York Times Notable Book
A National Book Award Longlist honoree and "gripping thriller with compassionate social commentary" （USA Today）
Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums， determined to move up in life， who 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 and 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--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 is 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。
Reviews
Julianne
，
Really important window book。 HS or higher。 Would make a great summer reading list or book club book。Themes around Corruption/ PoliticsJustice Family
Mike Trigg
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Very interesting narrative style， told through three characters （two in first person， one， notably， in third）。
Vinay Mehta
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It had the right elements for “A fine balance” esque story of India in its elements。 Varied people across India middle class society with each going through struggles on their own but not doing as much writing impact since it shows lack of refine ness， english words choices and also， lack of streamlined weaving of story together which hopefully will improve with next books。 Good potential ahead but 3 stars for this book。
Christy
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A FIRST novel？？！
Marie
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un récit bien rythmé avec des chapitres courts alternant les points de vue de trois protagonistes。 De nombreuses injustices sont dénoncées : transophobie， racisme， une justice indienne douteuse， des partis politiques véreux， la pauvreté。。 une histoire dure et importante à la fois， une lecture bouleversante。
Yogesh
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The plot is practical but missed delivering the closure for characters in some sense。 Somehow felt like everyone was selfish towards the end and that’s probably not how the entire world is all about。
Priyanka Sharma
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The story was okayish but some parts were so stereotypical。 Maybe， Majumdar needs to visit India often lol。 Characters lack nuance and It was beyond boring at times。 It lacks details and reads almost like the Bollywood Masala crap Shobha de writes。 I couldn’t read past few chapters。 The writing was waaaaaayyyyyy below average， disconnected and not immersive at all。Absolute BS。 Based on my past experiences， I am never going to trust any book club， ever。 Most of them are sold out to publishing hou The story was okayish but some parts were so stereotypical。 Maybe， Majumdar needs to visit India often lol。 Characters lack nuance and It was beyond boring at times。 It lacks details and reads almost like the Bollywood Masala crap Shobha de writes。 I couldn’t read past few chapters。 The writing was waaaaaayyyyyy below average， disconnected and not immersive at all。Absolute BS。 Based on my past experiences， I am never going to trust any book club， ever。 Most of them are sold out to publishing houses and the hype is certainly misleading and contrived。 Yikes。 I am sorry but tit doesn’t even deserve a zero for effort。 。。。more
RoshReviews
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Have you ever read a book where you don’t want to shut the book even after you complete reading it？ Where you just stare into vacant space， shocked and speechless？ Where the characters stay in your head even when you want them to leave you？ Where you don’t want to believe that such type of people actually exist in real life but deep down， you know that they do？ When I picked up this book， it was just another Indian author book but to be taken with a pinch of salt。 After all， it came with a boatl Have you ever read a book where you don’t want to shut the book even after you complete reading it？ Where you just stare into vacant space， shocked and speechless？ Where the characters stay in your head even when you want them to leave you？ Where you don’t want to believe that such type of people actually exist in real life but deep down， you know that they do？ When I picked up this book， it was just another Indian author book but to be taken with a pinch of salt。 After all， it came with a boatload of expectations attached: much-acclaimed， well-reviewed， a finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction in 2021， a Goodreads Choice Award finalist for Fiction and for Debut Novel in 2020， and despite all this， a GR rating of just 3。75 （my usual cut-off for GR ratings is 3。8） I was prepared to be disappointed and just wanted to get this book out of my TBR。 Boy， was I proven wrong！Story: The book begins with ‘a burning’; a terrorist attack on a train in the Kolabagan area of Kolkata。 The book ends with ‘a burning’; the embers of shock and pain smouldering in your heart。 In between these two points， you meet three people:•tJivan: A slum dweller who has been lucky enough to get admission in a local girls school through an NGO。 But her father’s ill health and the dwindling family resources make her drop out after the 10th standard and take up a sales job。 While she is determined to move up in life， fate pulls off a masterstroke。 Jivan is accused of the terrorist attack because of a careless comment she makes on Facebook。 Will she be able to clear her name of such a charge？ •tLovely: Yet another slum dweller， Lovely too harpers big dreams。 She knows that she is a talented actor and she wants to make it big in the world of movies。 The only hitch is that she is a hijra。 But is this a hitch in the eyes of Lovely？ Not at all。 She swaggers her way through the book， knowing that she’ll do anything she can to make it big in filmdom。 She has the only alibi that can save Jivan。 Will she be able to save Jivan even if it comes at the cost of her acting dreams？•tPT Sir: Guess who this is？ If you have been to school in the same generation as I， you will surely get it right。 PT Sir is a “PT Sir” （a Physical Training teacher） in the school where Jivan studied earlier。 He is used to getting no appreciation for his hard work on the sports ground。 One fine day， he happens to catch the speech of a right-wing political leader and is mesmerised by the ambience and effectiveness of her words。 Soon， he starts making his way up the political ladder。 But his rise seems to coincide with Jivan’s fall。 Will he be able to use his new political power to help his erstwhile favourite student？ The story is told from the perspectives of these three characters， with Jivan and Lovely voiced in first person and PT Sir in third person。 （I don’t like abrupt shifts in voices but in this novel， the transition between the two grammatical voices and the three characters is almost seamless。）Other than hearing from these characters， the story also provides some “interludes”， which contain events involving none of the three people mentioned above but are still relevant to the main plot。 These interludes are painful to read， and one of them is truly gruesome。 All the worse because you know that these things happen in actuality。 For a debut novel， this book is surprisingly well-crafted。 The main theme running through the novel is of inequality， be it political， social， caste-based or gender-based。 A secondary thread typing together the narratives is of aspirations: how high can you dream given your circumstances and how far are you willing to go to fulfil them。 I found both these themes interesting and well-written。 The way the story moves on tying every plot point， humanising every character， letting us understand their internal and external struggles， their motives， their disillusionments… Everything is written so smoothly。 So in terms of character sketching and plot planning and development， it gets full marks from me。 The characters are where the book outshines typical debut works。 Lovely will steal your heart， there’s no doubt about that。 Her character is the best-sketched in the book and her humour and gutsy demeanour in the face of challenges will make you feel for her and cheer for her。 I especially appreciated the way her dialogues were written in the continuous tense， giving a more realistic portrayal of her language hurdles。 Jivan and PT Sir too are very intelligently-created characters and you won’t have trouble believing any of their deeds。 I also loved how befitting the names were。 ‘Jivan’ is struggling for her ‘life’ in prison。 PT Sir， whose actual name is never revealed， wants to go much further than his extracurricular subject allows him to。 ’Lovely’， self-christened as such， is ‘lovely’ only in her own eyes as the rest of the world can’t seem to see beyond the fact that she is not a true woman。On the flip side， the book also caters to many stereotypes about India。 （Wish I could say that these stereotypes are false。） There is poverty， squalor， caste-based struggles， religious fanaticism， political zealotry，… most of which seem to be depicted with an eye on the facts but will still hurt some sentiments。 I guess it all depends on how you take it。 Is it accurate in its portrayal？ Yes， as far I could make out。 Does it name any political parties， or point fingers at any specific religion？ No。 But there are a lot of hints provided， and as they say in Hindi， ‘samajhdaar ko ishaara kaafi hai。’ Even if intended for the Western market （I’m not sure if it is）， the book doesn’t show a white-washed picture of an exotic India （à la The Henna Artist with its historical rubbish） but presents a grim reality of the dirty politico-religious underbelly of India。 It hurts， all the more because it’s true。 As far as I am concerned， the book gave me much more than what I was looking for， and left me a saddened Indian but a satisfied reader。 Much recommended， but to be read with an unbiased mind and a clear head。 To lighten the mood of this dark review， I’ll bid you adieu with a line that PT Sir tells his wife:“Beware！ What all you do on Facebook。。。 It’s full of criminals。”***********************Join me on the Facebook group， Readers Forever！， for more reviews， book-related discussions and fun。 。。。more
Surita
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This book was nothing less than amazing。 I couldn’t put it down and read it in less than a week。 I aches for all of the characters in this book ， mostly Jivan。 I will think about her fate for a long time
melodram
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Obwohl ich eingesperrte， schreiende Gesichter sah， hörte ich nur das Feuer。“ （S。 211）。Endlich ein Smartphone。 Internet。 Sogar Facebook。 Für die junge Muslimin Jivan eröffnet sich mit diesem Schatz， eine große， fremde Welt， die weit über die Wellblechdächer des indischen Kolabagan Slums， hinaus geht。 Doch sie ist unvorsichtig， äußert sich in einem Facebook Post regierungskritisch und wird verhaftet。 Sie wird für den terroristischen Zuganschlag am Kolabagan Bahnhof verantwortlich gemacht， der zur Obwohl ich eingesperrte， schreiende Gesichter sah， hörte ich nur das Feuer。“ （S。 211）。Endlich ein Smartphone。 Internet。 Sogar Facebook。 Für die junge Muslimin Jivan eröffnet sich mit diesem Schatz， eine große， fremde Welt， die weit über die Wellblechdächer des indischen Kolabagan Slums， hinaus geht。 Doch sie ist unvorsichtig， äußert sich in einem Facebook Post regierungskritisch und wird verhaftet。 Sie wird für den terroristischen Zuganschlag am Kolabagan Bahnhof verantwortlich gemacht， der zur gleichen Zeit stattfand。 Unmittelbar bekommt sie die korrupte， willkürliche indische Staatsgewalt zu spüren。 Ihre Hoffnungen liegen auf den Aussagen von Lovely， einer indischen Hijra， der sie früher Englisch-Nachhilfe gegeben hat und ihrem ehemaligen Sportlehrer PT Sir， der Jivans athletisches Talent immer fördern wollte。 In einem Gerichtsverfahren， dass sich lediglich auf fadenscheinige Indizien stützt， wird sie zum Tode verurteilt。 Während der Fall sich auf politischer Ebene entfaltet， PT Sir zum Staatssekretär einer rechtskonservativen Hindu-Partei aufsteigt und Lovely mit ersten Schauspielangeboten ihrem Traum von der großen Karriere näher kommt， bleibt Jivan nichts als die Hoffnung auf das gestellte Gnadengesuch。 Doch besteht überhaupt eine Chance gegen die durchtriebenen Machthaber， die im Hintergrund die Fäden ziehen？ 。Unschlagbar nüchtern und direkt schildert Megha Majumdar in ihrem Debüt， wie das „moderne Indien“ tickt。 Sie zeichnet ein präzises， beunruhigendes Bild von einem Land in dem Armut und Reichtum， politischer Einfluss und Ohnmacht so nah beieinander liegen， dass eine Entscheidung， Religionszugehörigkeit， kritische Aussage ausreichen um ein ganzes Leben zu zerstören。 Die Autorin nimmt uns Lesende mit in den Dreck， in die Slums von Indien， in dem Menschen zwischen Exkrementen， Müll und unzureichender Wasserversorgung leben und arbeiten。 Sprachlich auf den Punkt schafft sie den Lesenden zu packen， festzuhalten， schürt Hoffnungen und zerstört sie wieder。 Hochpoltisch， kritisch， ein absolut großes Leseerlebnis und definitiv ein Highlight dieses Jahr！ 🔥🔥🔥。👉🏻aus dem Englischen von Yvonne Eglinger 。。。more
Dana P
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Wow- I loved this book。 I listened to it which I think enhanced my overall enjoyment by hearing the voices of the characters。 I would highly recommend as a book club choice as there is a lot to discuss with regard to upward mobility and what holds people back， what are you willing to do and compromise in order to get what you want and how that affects others。
Valerie
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I have read so many depressing books about India that I almost stopped listening but I felt I should persevere and I'm glad I did。 The narrators were marvelous。 If you know anything about the Indian power structure the story is easy to predict but it is still very well done。 I have read so many depressing books about India that I almost stopped listening but I felt I should persevere and I'm glad I did。 The narrators were marvelous。 If you know anything about the Indian power structure the story is easy to predict but it is still very well done。 。。。more
Fafani Weinzierl
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Three stars because this hurt my heart。 A powerful book that smacks you in the face。 As far as literary qualities go it is a five-star book。
Alex Barron
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Highly engaging and deeply upsetting story about political corruption in Kolkata， played out in the overlapping stories of three people。 The narrators - a young woman named Jivan， a transgender or Hijra actress named Lovely， and a girls' school teacher called PT Sir - know each other only casually， but they decisions they make will deeply affect all three。 Short chapters， alternative perspectives， and Majumdar's concise， sharp style make this a page-turner。 Some of its set pieces like the attack Highly engaging and deeply upsetting story about political corruption in Kolkata， played out in the overlapping stories of three people。 The narrators - a young woman named Jivan， a transgender or Hijra actress named Lovely， and a girls' school teacher called PT Sir - know each other only casually， but they decisions they make will deeply affect all three。 Short chapters， alternative perspectives， and Majumdar's concise， sharp style make this a page-turner。 Some of its set pieces like the attack on the train， the government's leveling of an entire town， the incident with the Muslim beef-eater towards the end， will be have to forget。 。。。more
Federico Freydell
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A riveting book which gives insight on racism and poverty in India， luck， and the rise of Hindutva nationalism。 As an outsider， the book is fascinating。 The story and themes may be very basic to someone with a lot of knowledge on India， however。
Vaishali Gupta
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Takes a bit to start liking it but then you just can't keep the novel away。 The language switches between the characters so smoothly doing full justice to the character and simultaneously creating the imagery flawlessly。Reflects the reality of lower class struggling to move up with all the shades of grey （no bollywood style climaxes and anti climaxes）。 Real people faced with real challenges and making very real life choices！PT sir， Lovely （the hijra） and Jivan have their own aspirations and how Takes a bit to start liking it but then you just can't keep the novel away。 The language switches between the characters so smoothly doing full justice to the character and simultaneously creating the imagery flawlessly。Reflects the reality of lower class struggling to move up with all the shades of grey （no bollywood style climaxes and anti climaxes）。 Real people faced with real challenges and making very real life choices！PT sir， Lovely （the hijra） and Jivan have their own aspirations and how they juggle between what's ideal and what's right for them。 。。。more
Austin Brown
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4。5
Nathan Peel
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A Burning by Megha Majumdar is a political thriller set in India about a young Muslim girl named Jivan who is falsely accused of bombing a train。 Her future rests on the shoulders of two other characters named Lovely and PT Sir。 They both have the opportunity to save her， but whether they do or not depends on how much they are willing to sacrifice their own opportunities。 I had been reading this book for a while because I’ve been so busy writing， formatting， and promoting my own book， The Cards A Burning by Megha Majumdar is a political thriller set in India about a young Muslim girl named Jivan who is falsely accused of bombing a train。 Her future rests on the shoulders of two other characters named Lovely and PT Sir。 They both have the opportunity to save her， but whether they do or not depends on how much they are willing to sacrifice their own opportunities。 I had been reading this book for a while because I’ve been so busy writing， formatting， and promoting my own book， The Cards That Are Dealt。 Still， I’d say I got through this book in a short amount of time。 I didn’t feel like it was being dragged on。 Overall， I enjoyed this book。 Anything bad I have to say about this book is completely subjective。 I will try to be objective about the other parts， though。 I rate this book a 4/5 stars。 Watch my review on YouTube here， if you so wish。 The writing in this book is simply amazing。 Between fancy writing and simple writing， I usually prefer simple writing。 Majumdar writes in a way that is both simple and easy to understand but also flourishing with artistic elements and creativity。 The flow feels crisp and to the point without leaving out needed detail， the descriptions are the perfect balance between artistic and simple， and the voice is outstanding。 I love how each of these characters sound in my head。 Having a fleshed-out character is important， but being able to understand the character through the writing voice makes reading so enjoyable。 The pacing is just how I like it， though some may say it’s a bit slow， but I tend to enjoy that more。 Majumdar knows how to write word candy。 A Burning is very possibly the most beautifully written book I’ve read。 The three characters， Jivan， Lovely， and PT Sir are all amazing characters。 They are all so flawed， and I love it。 More importantly， it is clear and understandable why they have these flaws。 The strongest character in terms of development， intrigue， and joy to read is Lovely。 Her outlook on her society is unique and interesting。 I love stories and books that make you think and possibly change your point of view about important topics。 PT Sir has an incredible story that is almost scarry。 It’s not scarry in the sense that you are afraid for him， but rather how his story could be similar to someone else’s。 From what I’ve read in other reviews， Jivan seems to be the least favorite character while Lovely is the most favorite。 Personally， Jivan is my favorite。 That frustration and anger for being locked away for a crime she didn’t commit is such a raw range of emotions， and is also， unfortunately， the reality for a lot of people。 The anger and frustration against a system that beats her down is what really makes her my favorite character。 Majumdar wrote these three characters as perfect as they can be。 As I mentioned earlier， there are a few things I don’t like about this book。 Keep in mind that these things are strictly my opinion。 How I feel about these things may be completely different than you。 Still， I need to write about it because that’s part of reviewing。 My only criticism （again， more of preference than anything） is the amount of focus on politics。 I understand that the message of this book is political， but at some points I wished there were some other plot points。 Lovely’s character stayed away from this for the most part， but for the other two， it felt like there could have been a little less。 I don’t mean political topics， but politics in general， the workings of politics。 Again， this isn’t something I’m saying should be change but instead， more of a preference thing。 A note on ratings。 I used to rate books on a scale， but I’ve decided to steer away from that。 My rating is how I feel about it。 Now， I’m going to sort of contradict myself。 While I would have preferred if there was a little less description of politics， I do think the specific political message of this book is important。 It took place in India， but it applies to all governments and societies in the world。 That is part of the reason why I love this book so much。 It feels like a universal book that should be important to everyone。 There is a lot of passion and purpose behind this story， which is great of course。 I have read a lot of books that have felt meaningless in the big picture。 A Burning has a great balance between message and story。 These two aspects are intertwining， as they should be。 You may not enjoy a book with a strong message， but these are the books that are remembered and loved for a long time。 I’m not going to give any details about the ending， but I want to say how I feel about it in general。 The ending was perfect。 I was worried this book would not end well， but my worries quickly fled away。 It is disappointing to buy a book， enjoy most of it only to have the whole book ruined by the ending。 I’m not going to name anyone， but it happens a lot。 The ending is possibly the part the author has to be the most careful in terms of story。 It can be the difference between someone enjoying and hating a book。 That’s why I am mentioning it。 Finally， I’ll discuss the cover and interior design。 I feel a lot of reviewers overlook this in their reviews， but it is important to me， a soon to be author。 Red is my favorite color， so I naturally was very attracted to the cover of this book。 It was actually something I picked up because of the cover in the store without having read anything about it online。 That is something I almost never do。 The interior design is great too。 I like the large margins; they make it easier to read。 I noticed no errors nor any issues with the print quality。 Overall， this book is a solid 4/5 stars， making it one of my top favorites。 If you enjoyed of found use of this review， consider following me on social media and subscribing to my newsletter。 From https://nozithus。com 。。。more
Sarah Carr
，
This book was certainly unique， combining three unique stories that overlap -- Jivan， a Muslim girl accused of setting fire to a train， hijra Lovely who dreams of becoming an actress， and gym teacher with higher ambitions PT Sir。 The title refers to the train fire that sets everything in motion -- and though both Lovely and PT Sir might provide positive testimonies for Jivan， we watch them be pulled towards their own ambitions instead。 The writing is fascinating -- very different tenses and inte This book was certainly unique， combining three unique stories that overlap -- Jivan， a Muslim girl accused of setting fire to a train， hijra Lovely who dreams of becoming an actress， and gym teacher with higher ambitions PT Sir。 The title refers to the train fire that sets everything in motion -- and though both Lovely and PT Sir might provide positive testimonies for Jivan， we watch them be pulled towards their own ambitions instead。 The writing is fascinating -- very different tenses and interesting interludes -- and it almost feels a bit raw at times。 But the book was quite intriguing and hard to put down， so I'll round up and give it a four。 。。。more
Thundarr Smith
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interesting novel looking at various classes in India。 tough to be a muslim in india， apparently。
Kristen
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Megha Majumdar’s “A Burning” is a saddening social commentary on present-day India， male misogyny， and social media。 It’s shocking how quickly people can turn on those they know。 I respect the author’s move from Kolkata， India to the United States to attend college at Harvard and grad school at John’s Hopkins。 I also appreciate Majumdar’s attention to authentic Indian details， from the roti sold on the streets and the vying political parties to the cracked soles of the impoverished people lining Megha Majumdar’s “A Burning” is a saddening social commentary on present-day India， male misogyny， and social media。 It’s shocking how quickly people can turn on those they know。 I respect the author’s move from Kolkata， India to the United States to attend college at Harvard and grad school at John’s Hopkins。 I also appreciate Majumdar’s attention to authentic Indian details， from the roti sold on the streets and the vying political parties to the cracked soles of the impoverished people lining the streets and the piles of waste and cockroaches in the prisons。 Still， “A Burning” failed to meet expectations。 Yaa Gyasi calls the book “utterly thrilling，” yet Majumdar’s novel has a simple plot with dull progression from scene to scene。 I know the ending is supposed to prove a point， but the book was too straightforward and ineffective for my liking。 。。。more
Robyn Burns
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A poignant story set in contemporary India with three narrators。 In the age of social media， where one comment can grow arms and legs。 A post by one of our narrators Jivan does just that， creating the plot for the rest of the novel。 Majumdar explores corruption， bribery， class， ethnicity， gender， politics and education。 Despite the plethora of issues interwoven in the story it reads as natural and authentic。 The writing is poetic， in places even melodic。 A fantastic debut novel， I would highly r A poignant story set in contemporary India with three narrators。 In the age of social media， where one comment can grow arms and legs。 A post by one of our narrators Jivan does just that， creating the plot for the rest of the novel。 Majumdar explores corruption， bribery， class， ethnicity， gender， politics and education。 Despite the plethora of issues interwoven in the story it reads as natural and authentic。 The writing is poetic， in places even melodic。 A fantastic debut novel， I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook， it’s incredibly well narrated and engaging。 Thank you to Simon & Schuster Audio UK and NetGalley for the audio-arc in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Marie A。
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I just finished the final page of this book， and I am wrecked。 Compromises and their consequences， all in some beautiful writing。 Read this one。
Steve Carter
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https://mediaglut。blogspot。com/2021/0。。。A Burning A novel by Megha Majumdar This 2020 novel is very current to the moment globally although set entirely in India。 It is a very personal story of a very poor Muslim young woman who gets accused of being a terrorist involved in a horrible torching of a passenger train filled with people; a burning。 This occurs because of a casual Facebook “friendship” she has with someone she doesn’t really know who is said to be a “terrorist recruiter”。She only has https://mediaglut。blogspot。com/2021/0。。。A Burning A novel by Megha Majumdar This 2020 novel is very current to the moment globally although set entirely in India。 It is a very personal story of a very poor Muslim young woman who gets accused of being a terrorist involved in a horrible torching of a passenger train filled with people; a burning。 This occurs because of a casual Facebook “friendship” she has with someone she doesn’t really know who is said to be a “terrorist recruiter”。She only has facebook because she was able to finally earn enough money for a smartphone。 The novel is a very engaging story of Jivan， the accused， PT Sir， the physical education teacher in a school that Jivan has attended， and Lovely， a young hijra outcast taking an acting class and dreaming of Bollywood stardom。 Jivan knows Lovely because she has been helping her to learn English。 We follow these three into the story。 The Jivan sections are written in first person and she tells her sad life story。 A third person voice tells us about Lovely and PT Sir。 The reader becomes very intimate with Jivan， who is a fine young woman just struggling to make a better life， a marginal life， up from a not really sustainable slum life， for herself， her mother and disabled father。 Our pathetic hunger and dreams of stardom are a major part of this story that can be transferred to most anywhere in the mass media saturated world。 We all seek status。 Want to be seen by our peers as doing well， achieving， succeeding。 And maybe catching the eye of something bigger， fame and fortune。 This varies widely depending on need， and situational circumstances。 This is clearly illustrated in the characters of PT Sir and Lovely。 Status seaking， although directly related to economic improvement， really comes from a deeper emotional need to be seen， to matter。 The novel shows us how that works on PT Sir and Lovely。PT Sir comes upon a mass outdoor rally of a right-wing populist Hindi political party。 The microphone fails and PT Sir leaps to the stage to quickly remedy the situation。 This act brings him to the attention of the leaders。 He is thrilled and sucked in by the leaders who begin to use him。 Lovely and PT Sir must learn to compromise their ethics and truths or abandon their dreams of recognition and economic improvement。 They are uneasy with that。 The thoughtful reader is invited to question themselves。 Would we sacrifice justice to secure elevation of status， and to what degree？ This is a very fine novel。 It is written in a spare style。 That lack of florid prose seems to clarify and heighten the reality of the story。 It draws us into the story of these individuals rather than impressing us with writing style。The result is a stunningly impressive and fully realized story。The Jivan parts， written in first person， are particularly moving。I cannot think of a better novel than this。 Totally of the moment with an underlying theme of how we can be manipulated through our need of status， It is great， vital and deals with things that touch all our lives。 。。。more
Nancy Friedman
，
Beautifully written。 Somehow， even without lengthy descriptive passages， the author manages to bring us to India， its tastes， smells， beauty， corruption and contradictions。 The characters are full of contradictions themselves。 Understandable， even at their worst。 Heart wrenching at their best。 Hard to believe this is a first novel。 Hope she writes another。
India
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Beautiful writing which would make me want to keep an eye on the author’s future work， but this title wasn’t particularly for me。 What was done in 280 pages probably could have been done in half the length。
Opinionated Hijabi
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A Burning by Megha Majumdar tore my heart out with the tales of cause and effect centered around a small but diverse group of characters in Kolkata， India。 I loved the diversity， and that some of the key characters included a poor Muslim girl who just wanted to learn， and a Hijra woman （of the Indian trans community ）with dreams of becoming an actor。 The author chose to write in each character’s voice which was interesting， and took some time to become a comfortable read。 Eventually， the act of A Burning by Megha Majumdar tore my heart out with the tales of cause and effect centered around a small but diverse group of characters in Kolkata， India。 I loved the diversity， and that some of the key characters included a poor Muslim girl who just wanted to learn， and a Hijra woman （of the Indian trans community ）with dreams of becoming an actor。 The author chose to write in each character’s voice which was interesting， and took some time to become a comfortable read。 Eventually， the act of writing in particular cadences was like a window into the characters， in a small way。I truly hoped and wished for a good ending for each main character （except one 😡）。 Amidst the dialogue， I appreciated the way the author directed the narrative showing Islamophobic bigotry in actions of a （presumably） Hindu nationalist political party， and the daily struggle of India’s gender diverse Hijras。 Sometimes you love a character and a story， only to have your hopes dashed- and perhaps that’s what makes the story so poignant in the end。 I would highly recommend reading this book， but caveat: it broke my heart。 I will not forget it， and I’d read every book by Mujamdar。 Her breakout novel is hauntingly touching。 。。。more
Marco De Boer
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Great story of there different characters in modern India 。 They becommentariëren intertwingled and related in different levels。 Just a great story beautifully written 。 A must read ！
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Burning
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Burning&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Burning&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0