Megha Majumdar's "A Burning": A Gripping Novel of Love, Loss, and Redemption

BookWorm: If you're looking for a happy book, you won't find it in 'A Burning' - but what it lacks in jollity it makes up for in insightfulness and in being thought-provoking. The story is mainly told from the perspectives of three characters. Jivan is a young Muslim woman accused of participating in a horrific terrorist attack. Lovely is a hijra who dreams of being a film star, that Jivan was teaching English. And 'PT Sir' (we never learn his actual name) is a teacher who becomes involved with a right-wing political party but must abandon his moral compass to rise within its ranks.

The fates of these three characters intersect as Jivan is tried for her supposed crimes. However this is a society where corruption is rife, and where the odds are not in favour of the poor and marginalised. Things pan out much as you might expect, although the trajectories of 'PT Sir' and Lovely are rather different and act in counterpoint to Jivan's. This is a clever touch which gives the book a balance that some stories on similar themes lack.

Jivan is a likeable enough character, I could sympathise with her situation even though I never felt a strong emotional connection with her. 'PT Sir' is a...

United Kingdom on Aug 16, 2023

Amazon Customer: What does the title of the novel and this cover remind you of? Same here.

If your awareness of the state of the nation comes from newspapers and TV, this novel might shock you. Or not, if your politics supports caste-based and religious oppression and persecution.

If you're a person with belief in the ideals of equality and democracy and rely on independent online media, A Burning won't shock you. The horrors so effectively depicted in the novel won't be new to you.

However, it's a well written novel with some solid research. There are some parts in the novel you can't forget. The unbelievable degree of poverty people have been living in for ages, the absolute insensitivity and selfishness of the Indian middle class, and the greed of the elite who make use of them and to whom human lives mean zilch are portrayed in a few deft strokes.

Megha Majumdar paints the picture with such artistry that you forgive her uneven style (two characters tell their own story while others are told in third person). This is a story that needed to be told and is told well. Do read the novel and gift copies to your less humane friends and relatives.

India on Apr 05, 2021

Random Robin: A Burning by Megha Mujumdar left me chilled. And it wasn’t just because the book reflects the realities of present-day India, but because this story could be anyone’s story. This could be your story. This could be my story.

Sedition is a serious crime, one worthy of rigorous investigation by law enforcement authorities, but in the world of the novel, all that gets thrown out of the window. All it takes is a single tweet, post, share, comment to be labelled as public enemy number one—due process be damned. If you are unfortunate enough to have the ‘wrong name’ or practice the ‘wrong religion’, that just makes their job easier. Whatever little hope you might harbour of a free and fair trial, you should leave it at your doorstep the second police drag you hand-cuffed across your threshold in the middle of the night. The system, your friends, the press, your fellow citizens (especially your fellow citizens) will fail you; it would be foolish to think otherwise.

Jivan is living the dream, well not really, but her family is better off now than when they once were. When they leave their impoverished life behind in the village to live an impoverished life in...

India on Jan 12, 2021

Abeer Y. Hoque: A Burning by Megha Majumdar

“One morning, daylight fails.”

A Burning is Megha Majumdar’s first novel, combining a character study, a political tempest, a communal heartbreak. The chapters are brief and punchy, told from three rotating points of view: Jivan, a teenage girl who lives in a Kolkata slum; Lovely, a hijra with acting ambitions who Jivan is tutoring in English; and PT Sir, Jivan’s gym teacher who joins a rising Hindu party movement. Their personal connections are thrown into relief when Jivan gets caught up in a criminal case involving a terrorist attack (which takes place within the first few pages - no spoilers!).

“The rules are different on a rainy day.”

While the plot of a terrorist attack and its aftermath is the main driver of the novel, I especially loved the urban details of the city of Kolkata. Because Jivan and Lovely are both surviving on the lower rungs of society, the street with its vigor and filth is never very far from view. The hawkers, the dirt, the heat, the crowds - all of it feels tangibly present: “A pillow filler is walking by, twanging his cotton-sorting instrument like a harp.” A great deal of the novel...

United States on Aug 19, 2020

Cassie Troja: Let me start by saying that this book is beautifully written. The author portrays her culture with courage, depth, humility, candor, and profound respect. It is one of the world’s worst kept secrets that the government, especially at the lower levels, is often gallingly corrupt. The storyline, although predictable, is still moving and heartbreaking. I appreciated how this book highlighted various fringe/minority groups as well. The main character is Muslim, which is a dangerous way of life in many parts of India. This is even portrayed in a scene of horrendous and fatal violence against a Muslim family whose only crime was eating beef. However, without expounding and in an effort to avoid politicizing this review, I will simply say that while I felt compassion for the character “Lovely,” I did not appreciate the subtle attempt at normalizing gender dysphoria. This is my primary reason for downgrading this novel.

This is a “chew and spit” book for me, meaning I did not necessarily feel the need to abandon it, but I did not enjoy it nearly as much as I otherwise would have if it weren’t for certain themes. While it is poignant and well-written, and provides...

United States on Aug 19, 2020

Leslie Kelsay: "A Burning" is beautiful with spare prose and intertwined stories illuminating aspiration, class structure and nationalism. The Indian setting moves us away from familiar depictions and customs of the themes, making the focus sharper.

Jivan is a slum-living shop girl who witnesses a terrorist attack on a commuter train in which 100 people die and hundreds are burned. A seemingly innocuous comment in a Facebook conversation makes her a target of investigation and prosecution.

PT Sir is a physical education teacher at the less than average girls school Jivan attended. Essentially seduced by a free snack offered because of a political party emblem he picked up at a rally, he stumbles on a career ladder with access to power and wealth, steps on and keeps climbing.

Lovely is a hijra, a transgender woman who is at once an outcast who begs for her living and, with her sisters, sought after for blessings of babies and bridal couples. Jivan was teaching her English to improve her chances for the film career she was so confident could be hers.

This is a compelling debut novel. It's compact and makes the most of braiding the stories and revealing more and more of...

United States on Jul 27, 2020

Amazon Customer: Megha Majumdar's debut novel is a grim but accurate portrayal of contemporary India, written with great empathy and flair. The narrative swivels between three central characters:

Jivan - A young, ambitious woman whose life is upended due to a tiny social - media misadventure. By questioning the administration about their handling of a terrorist attack, she finds herself accused of conspiring against the state.

Lovely - A starry-eyed 'hijra' living in the same slum as Jivan and whose been at the receiving end of Jivan's kindness and is a key witness in her trial.

PT Sir - Jivan's PE teacher in school, whose political aspirations constantly erode his moral fortitude. He is not inherently evil, but gradually adorns the depravity required to further his cause, unmindful of the consequences.

Through these three primary narratives and a series of interludes attributed to other smaller characters, the author tackles a variety of issues afflicting our society - communalism, judicial apathy, media trials, mob lynching, corruption and the politics of hatred.

Each character has a unique voice. Lovely especially stands out as she exclusively speaks in the...

India on Jul 27, 2020

Carolyn: This is a powerful book that is short and concise but reads like an epic. I would have been happy if this novel were expanded to reveal more about the struggles facing the intriguing characters and the city in which they lived. This is a remarkably accomplished debut and I hope the author has plans for more books in the future. Told through the viewpoints of three fascinating and different people, what they have in common is a burning ambition to improve their lot in life in modern-day India.

Jivan is a Moslem girl living in extreme poverty in the slums. She desires to rise to a middle-class lifestyle. She is on her way having obtained a salaried position at a clothing store in the Mall. She is hardworking and helpful in her community. Fate intervenes when she is on her way to deliver a parcel of textbooks to a person she is helping learn English. She is observed near the train station during the time when there was a massive explosion on the train and numerous people died. Jivan had been entertaining herself posting on FaceBook and she wrote a comment disparaging the police. She was promptly arrested as the authorities needed someone to blame, and they decided her package...

Canada on Jul 15, 2020