A Burning - Megha Majumdar

A Burning

By Megha Majumdar

  • Release Date: 2020-06-02
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 281 Ratings

Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK! • A "gripping thriller with compassionate social commentary"  (USA Today) about three unforgettable characters who seek to riseto the middle class, to political power, to fame in the moviesand 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, 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. Lovelyan irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth and hope and humorhas 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.

Reviews

  • Boring, unrealistic, and tragic.

    1
    By mashny
    There are three main characters, and each has a life that follows a simplistic and unrealistic path in an impossibly short time. I don’t want to provide any spoilers but the author provides an ending that is simplistically and unrealistically tragic, seemingly designed for effect. In fact the whole book just seemed false to me, and I don’t understand why it was so widely acclaimed.
  • Engaging writing, but too many clichés

    2
    By MzuzuEd
    The book, though written in a nice style, lacks substance. It simply consists of a long list of actions trying to convince the reader that most people in India are terrible. Even if I agreed with this message (which I don’t), this would have been tiresome.
  • Very quick read

    3
    By Little momma 1955
    I enjoyed how the author used the different character's narratives rather than having chapters. A very sad tale of the probable reality in India. Not a title I would have chosen, but it was for our book club and I'm glad it read it.
  • Phenomal insight to a corrupted government and the inequities of the poor

    5
    By kaykaybean13
    A woman, who was born a man had fought her way to a better life, working hard to help her parents out of the slums and hoping to become an actress. Along the way, she posts a politically inappropriate message on FB and is soon taken into custody and blamed for a horrific burning of a train and it’s passengers death by throwing fire into their compartments ultimately killing over 100 people. She is innocent yet the police and political unrest in the county needs someone to blame. After a harrowing unfair and unjust one sided trial she is sentenced to death. Those who could have saved her were bullied by the government, their own self preservation becoming a priority and others were bought off by officials. It is a terribly difficult story to read, yet resonated loudly and had similar parallels to corrupt governments, politicians and police authorities not just in India but in our own country as well. Well written and the heartbreaking emotional connection the reader feels for all the characters is due to this authors skills and talent to not only make her characters human but to find and fully feel compassion for each of them. Well done!!

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