A Burning by Megha Majumdar

 

A terrorist attack on a train leaves more than a hundred people dead. A young woman, Jivan, who witnessed the attack, is appalled by the lack of police intervention. Feeling frustrated, she posts on Facebook, criticising the government, and this leads to her arrest.

A Burning by Megha Majumdar was recommended to me by a member of my book group. I do enjoy my book group, not only does the monthly read push me out of my comfort zone, but it's great to share recommendations.

While this was a very accessible read, its content was stark and devastating. Set in India, we get to witness the harsh way of life for many people. Poverty is rife, and the vast majority of people are scrambling to make enough money to get by. This is a bleak reminder of how well off Western nations are.

Like many young people, Jivan takes to social media to vent her frustration regarding the police and the government, little realising that her ill-though-out post would result in her arrest. Thrown into prison, she has to wait a year for her trial. It is hoped that two character witnesses will be able to show that she was not supporting the terrorists.

We gain a glimpse into the lives of those two witnesses throughout the novel. PT Sir is a gym teacher at the school Jivan attended. He always felt protective of Jivan, even supplying her with food when he realised how impoverished she was. PT Sir accidentally becomes involved with the party in opposition to the government. The other witness is Lovely, a member of the hijra community, India's third gender. Lovely has ambitions to become a Bollywood actor, and Jivan was helping her to learn English.

As Jivan struggles in prison, hoping that a journalist will tell her story, we see how wealth corrupts everyone, even those she hoped would help her. I was devastated by the conclusion of the story, shocked at how something as simple as a provocative post on social media could have such dire consequences. 

Author Details

Megha Majumdar is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel A Burning, which was nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize, and the American Library Association's Andrew Carnegie Medal. It was named one of the best books of the year by media including the Guardian, Washington Post, New York Times, NPR, Atlantic, Vogue, and TIME Magazine. A 2022 Whiting Award winner, she was born and raised in Kolkata, India, and holds degrees in anthropology from Harvard and Johns Hopkins. She is the former editor in chief of Catapult books, and lives in New York.