What a fantastic book. A unique story told through the eyes and experiences of three well developed characters.
Jivan,,a young Muslim girl, living in a slum near a railway station is a bright girl who has been educated at a middle class school until 16, when she leaves to get a job to help her family. When a terrorist activity results in a train being blown up with huge loss of life, through a series of unfortunate errors, it is Jivan who is arrested and blamed.Who is able to speak on her behalf? PT Sir, an insignificant phys ed teacher at her school, who often gave her bits of food when he could see she had none. Given how empathetic he was when Jivan was at the school, could he not be relied upon to give her a strong character reference? Lucky, a ''half and half' can testify that Jivan was actually with her teaching her English, when the bomb went off. This story tells of Jivan trying to get her story out to avoid execution. It tells of Lucky and her desire to be a Bollywood star. It tells of PE Sirs and how far he will sell his soul to rise in politics. It is a story of morals,racism, corruption, innocence, and prejudice. Overall it is a beautiful, well crafted gripping story.

Set in Kolkata, India, this book tells the story of the aftermath of a terrorist attack through the eyes of three Kolkata inhabitants. A young girl, Jivan, finds herself accused of helping plan and execute the attack after she posts a comment on social media. Lovely is transgender, also known as hijra, and makes a living from performing blessings at weddings and for newborn children, but she longs to be an actor. This dream is put at risk when she testifies that the package Jivan was carrying at the time of the bombing was a package of books to help Lovely learn to read English. The third character is PT Sir, a teacher who taught Jivan at her school who finds an opportunity to capitalise on what has happened. All three become caught up in the media frenzy that follows Jivan's arrest.

Within this story, the author looks at religious, social, and gender divides within Indian society. A fairly innocuous comment on social media costs Jivan her freedom, whilst telling the truth puts Lovely's dreams at risk. The only one to find themselves doing better afterwards is PT Sir, and it seems he has little compunction in pursuing his political ambitions even if that hurts others. For a debut novel, it is certainly a commendable one, and I thought it was an intriguing plot, but I didn't feel connected to the main characters at all and parts of it seemed rushed.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Simon & Schuster UK / Scribner UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

The debut is powerful, emotional and a book everyone should read.

A burning starts with Jivan and a choice that they make a post on Facebook which sets the scene for the rest of the book. It starts with an action which effects many in Jivan life in different ways.

This book is very well paced and kept me wanting to keep reading page after page. All the characters were fully realised and could visualise all of them clearly.

A powerful and beautifully written book discussing the caste system in India. life and the choices we make. The ending had you thinking about the choices we make and what impact they would have for not only ourselves but the people involved. A very power ending.

Thank you NetGalley and the publish for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a powerfully politically charged novel. This story follows three main characters in contemporary India. Lovely a transgender female aspiring to be an actress, PT Sir a P.E teacher aspiring to work in politics and Jivan a poor young girl living in the slums suddenly accused of being recruited by terrorists. Through twists and turns of fate these three characters and their narratives become intertwined and that makes up the bulk of the plot.

I found this story incredibly poignant and sad. But very of these current times we are living in politically, with the rise of social media and news media and its influences on the public and public opinion. There is lots of rich material within this book to unpack. But also the short and snappy chapters make this book a pleasure to fly through. This book deals with hard hitting subject material but writes about it in such a compelling and propulsive way. An incredibly addictive and impressive debut.

Thanks to the author Megha Majumdar, Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t read a lot of political fiction because it doesn’t tend to grip me but I had a feeling that this one would be different. I love literary fiction that entwines characters lives together in unexpected ways and I knew A Burning would give me that.

Jivan is a poor Muslim girl who is desperate to make her life better through education. However, a Facebook comment means that she is accused of being behind a terrible terrorist attack and arrested. PT Sir is a gym teacher who sees an opportunity to join a right wing political party and move through the ranks to power. Lovely is a hijra, a transgender woman, who harbours dreams of stardom and does everything she can to become a successful actor.

Jivan teaches English to those who want to learn it. Lovely was one of her students and it’s these lessons where Jivan’s alibi for that fateful day lies. Jivan’s story is horrendously tragic and sadly, it seems incredibly realistic. She is a victim of the society that she was unfortuante enough to be born into and I know that her story will resonate with so many young women everywhere.

The incident where Jivan's mother is racially abused and assaulted in the marketplace is certainly not isolated to the slums of India. Jivan's father is also very ill and the doctors just don't seem willing to really help him. Racism, misogyny and class issues are all captured in this very short passage and these are all driving forces behind the novel. I wanted nothing but the truth to come out for Jivan and for her to achieve her dreams. As it continued, that looked less and less likely.

PT Sir is a typical man who is power hungry and incredibly opportunistic. He appears to become infatuated with an upcoming name in right wing poltiics, Bimala Pal. His constant attendance at her rallies and subsequent rise through the party’s ranks means that he neglects his wife and home life. I’d have loved some chapters from the point of view of PT Sir’s wife actually. As it stands, we don’t even get to learn her name, which shows how seldom he actually thinks of her. PT Sir’s story is a lesson in how dangerous extreme politics and indoctrination can be and how easy it can be for certain types of people to become immersed in it.

Lovely brings a spark of joy to the book. Her ambition is so pure and her tutors seem to fully believe in her. Her chapters were full of hope which the rest of the book severely lacked. I had never heard of hijra before, so I was delighted to learn about them and their tendency to be experts in music and dance. Despite Lovely belonging to a marginalised community, as Jivan is, her life is full of warmth and light, which is a stark difference to Jivan’s situation. I guess it just goes to show that life really can go either way and sometimes it’s directed by bad luck and horrific circumstances.

Lovely’s story also features heartbreak. The man she loves can’t legally marry her so he marries someone else but Lovely manages to attend their wedding. My heart was with her for the entirety of this scene and I felt all of the injustices against transgender and gender non-conforming people here. Azad probably genuinely loved her but he has had to give into the pressures of tradition and society.

Lovely has the power to provide Jivan with an alibi but she is advised against getting involved in the trial, as it could damage her fledgling career. In some respects, I understand this decision but it’s the catalyst for the horrific ending. Lovely could potentially give up everything that she has worked for her whole life but it comes at the ultimate cost for a really good, innocent person. An unimaginable choice.

A Burning is a very well written literary novel that has the pace of a thriller in some parts. I certainly felt anger and deep sadness at the end. However, I did feel that the political message was being pushed above everything else. The intertwining of the characters didn’t quite happen in the way that I wanted it to but it was still very enjoyable. I formed connections to both Jivan and Lovely, so I can’t fault it for emotion-stirring, characterisation or readability!

When i saw the synopsis of A Burning, I knew I want to read it. It was a rough start with all the different characters and a whole new culture, so I tried transferring to audio. It worked perfectly, with three different narrators and Indian English, it gave me the background and atmosphere I lacked while reading it. In this story, we follow three different people presumably connected to a terrorist attack in modern day India. At moments I had trouble reading it cause some things reminded me on my own country. The brutality, the corruption, the feeling of hopelessness. ⠀
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This is a story about individuality in a country where a person is just a number. About the need for success and the sacrifices one must do to make it. How much of ourselves do we need to deny and what are the limits of our pride? And how in the end a personal gain comes always before compassion and humanity. ⠀

This is a deeply upsetting novel yet one I would urge people to read. It is a very impressive first novel from the author. The exploration of the decisions characters make that effect not only thier lives but that create ripples that they can't even know about, is very well observed. The sense of place is absolute. It's heartbreaking, but I would definitely recommend it.

Thabk you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy.

Synopsis: 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 humour--has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.

I loved the interlocking stories of the main characters without them spending any time together on page.
The writing style was really great and the three narrators were defined and had their own voice.
I find this to be indescribable, it is gentle, it is heavy, it is political, it is hopeful, it is tragic.

This is the story of three people, linked by their proximity to one another and to a terrorist attack on a packed train in Bengal. Jivan is a young woman from the slums, who has dropped out of school to bring in money to support her family. After making a scathing Facebook comment against the government in the immediate aftermath of the attack, she is quickly arrested and held up to the country as being responsible for the atrocity. Lovely is also from the slums, a wannabe actress scraping by with begging and performing faux religious blessings whilst dealing with prejudice for being transgender, to whom Jivan is giving English lessons. And then we have PT Sir, Jivan's former PE teacher, who is lured into politics with dreams of recognition and power and is willing to bend his morals in the process. The sum total of these three characters is a story which paints a picture of modern-day India, its politics and the realities of daily life for those below the breadline.

I really enjoyed this book, I thought the way the three perspectives were woven together was really tight and captivating. Jivan and Lovely's stories were exceptionally compelling, how both in their way were simply doing all they could to better their incredibly tenuous position in society. I enjoyed PT Sir's story slightly less, and I think mainly that's because he is such a pathetic, entitled character. I still found his storyline interesting, in the light it cast on politics and corruption, but the whole time I was reading I just felt so infuriated with him.

I can't say an awful lot without spoilers, but for the gut punch it gave me I can only say that this book built up and delivered in a really powerful way.

As Jagtar Singh Johal, a Scot, faces the death penalty in jail in India, A Burning feels like an incredibly timely and uncomfortable novel. Jagtar Singh Johal was arrested in 2017 shortly after his wedding in Punjab and charged in connection with conspiracy to murder Hindu nationalist leaders linked to the ruling party of Narendra Modi, the prime minister. Tortured into confessing to a terrorist plot, he has now appealed to the British Government to demand his release.

So A Burning is more than just an exceptional , propulsive novel, it is also a reflection of contemporary Indian politics, and so much more besides.

A Burning follows the lives of three loosely connected characters in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Jivan is a young Muslim woman who is fighting her way up in the world. She comes from a very poor background and was brought up in the slums. The fortunate recipient of a scholarship, she proved herself an adept pupil and good at athletic, too. Her PT teacher would occasionally share his lunch with her, seeing how hungry she always arrived at school. Now she has left school without a backward glance and is working in a clothes shop in the new shiny glass and chrome Mall and has recently purchased that most desirable of things, a smartphone.

Jivan is a thoughtful young woman who helps others and on the day of the attack, she is taking some textbooks to Lovely, a hijari who wants to be an actor and who she is helping to learn English. Jivan was passing time while having a cigarette at the station, posting on Facebook where she had recently been adding to her friends and in the course of this, was idly reflecting on the role of the police in the train attack. Suddenly she finds herself the focus of a police arrest and is imprisoned for suspected involvement in the attack and for consorting with a known terrorist in the form of a young man she had been chatting to on Facebook, albeit about nothing in particular.

Lovely, our would-be actor is transgender. She dreams of being up there with the best of Bollywood actresses and in pursuit of her goal she has been going to acting classes and getting Jivan to teach her English. She knows that Jivan was carrying textbooks to her that day and not the incendiary devices that the police claim.

Our last principal character is the weakest of the three. PT Sir is a Hindu and a PT teacher in a local school, once attended by Jivan. Recognising a famous actress addressing a nearby crowd he finds himself in the position of being able to be helpful at what turns out to be a political rally. Flattered by the attention these right wing politicians bestow on him, he is soon sucked into their schemes and it is not long before he begins to recognise the advantages that a career in politics can bring, whatever the cost.

A Burning is the tragic story of corruption, the suppression of freedom of expression in a democracy, of religious intolerance and bigotry, of class strata, media manipulation and of the dangers of using social media in an intemperate world.

The writing here is taut and sparse. Not a word is wasted. Megha Majumdar makes it all too easy to see how each of these characters has a dream of bettering their lives and shows us with startling clarity just how easily seduced that makes them – so easily exploited by those who can into betraying everything they once cared about.

As Jivan languishes in prison, people are making political capital out of her and a maelstrom of anger is whipped up against her for her alleged monstrous crimes. We can only watch in horror as her fate is decided by those who have an agenda and her life is left to those who can influence her fate but will they do so when it comes at a cost to them?

Verdict: A range of important themes are tackled in this short but vital book. And though I know it speaks predominantly of contemporary Indian politics, nevertheless it has resonance here and lessons for all of us. A thought provoking and timely read.

This is a very good book, powerful, political and with important messages. I felt it was very modern and spoke to the society we live in at present, and injustice. The dangers of sharing on social media are pretty much the catalyst for the destruction of our main characters previous life. I personally just couldn't connect with the characters on a deep level, as if I was missing bits of them.

Firstly, a huge thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley or providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Set in contemporary India, A Burning follows the stories of Jivan, a Muslim girl wrongly imprisoned on terrorism charges after a status she posted on Facebook; Lovely, a girl determined to become an actress but has to make an important decision to save her career or to save herself; lastly there is PT Sir, a teacher who aspires to be more even if that means joining a right-wing political party to get there…

This novel is primarily told through the perspectives of Jivan, Lovely and PT Sir, although the characters are all linked together through Jivan and the terrorist attack, they are all very different. The novel opens with Jivan and at first I found myself thinking how silly she was, trying to get more likes on Facebook after the Kalbagan terrorist attack, which ultimately backfires in the worst way. However, you're very quickly reminded that she is just behaving in the same way a lot of teenage girls do and she isn’t really the one at fault but the society that she finds herself in. As the novel progresses and we witness the severe consequences of this one status, you can't help but want to protect her and root for her as she faces injustice. Although I may not have agreed with other decisions she makes (eg. the interview), I could understand why she was doing it and still hoped that it would all work out for her.

When it comes to the other protagonists, at first it feels as though Lovely's perspective is the more light hearted (almost comic relief with how she easily confronts the gazes of lecherous men) and, compared to the stories of Jivan and PT Sir, it is. However, there is so much more depth to her and her story that you find yourself rooting for her too. I really liked how her personality is crafted, she is a very memorable character. In particular, what stands out the moot to me is how fiercely she defends Jivan at the beginning. This dedication is somewhat mirrored in PT Sir's chapters where he is doing everything he can to support Bimala Pal in her political campaign, although unlike Lovely, from the start you could see his selfish intentions outright. I was fascinated to watch him get sucked in deeper and deeper into the world of politics and how people believe they have good intentions, when they are, in fact, very twisted.

Although these characters are all different, a similarity that we see between them in how they are exploited by other people. Obviously, in some cases it ends much worse than in others but I thought that it is very clever the way that Majumdar illustrates the various ways people are taking advantage of, regardless of whether they realise it or not. Not only that but, we see how certain characteristics (eg. gender and religion) determines the outcomes for those characters and whether they are able to benefit from others town advantage. Of course, I already had some kind of idea that this was the case in India but reading the accounts of very authentic characters really highlights and allows the reader to understand the hardships and decisions people are faced with.

I enjoyed how the novel would alternate between the different perspectives as it does a great job of emphasising the contrast between all of the characters. However amongst these perspectives are a collection of interludes to give you a snapshot of other people involved in this story and provides additional insight on how other people are impacted by the events that the central protagonists are going through. Towards the end of the novel there is a particularly harrowing interlude chapter which was a difficult read. Especially when you realise that similar events happen in reality too.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and the characters who were crafted to tell it. This was a very powerful novel which left me in tears by the end and deep in thought. This is a must read of 2021 and I win certainly be keeping an eye on what Majumdar does next.

"A Burning" holds so many stories in one. The dangers of free thought verses the damages of control. The risk of only living in hopes and dreams rather than being rooted to the ground. The chance to become more than you are at the expense of someone else. Anyone else. Maybe even everyone else.

The layers of storytelling combined with the multiple voices, this author is one to watch if this debut is anything to go by.

I was so looking forward to reading this book, based on all the hype, and overall, I wasn’t disappointed, but it’s not without its flaws.
I can’t say I particularly liked the characters, Lovely was certainly interesting. Given it a 3.5 and raised it to 4*

I picked up A Burning because of its themes around class and injustice. I wasn’t disappointed in this area. A Burning made me think, and get angry. We shouldn’t live in a world that allows things like this to happen. This may be a fictional book, but I don’t doubt it’s based in reality.

Jivan is a young Muslim girl, dreaming of better things for her and her family. She has a job, and she’s helping Lovely to learn English. But her family still live in the slums, and so she’s an easy target to take the blame for a terrorist attack that happens in her local area.

Lovely is a hijra. And I had no idea what that meant going into the book. But from what I understand, it means transgender. Lovely is a transgender woman, who dreams of becoming a film star. Some of the issues raised by Lovely’s perspectives are almost as sad as the things that happen to Jivan. In a country without proper healthcare, she is unable to transition fully. Though this doesn’t seem to bother her too much, I have to wonder how many are suffering because of this situation.

PT Sir, meanwhile, is in a way the most interesting character in the book. He starts out as a school teacher, teaching physical education at a private school. But he becomes involved in politics and rises up through their ranks by towing their (corrupted) line. Though he does have an odd crisis of conscience, he believes everything he’s told and seems to make the choice to believe everything he’s told, because he wants the pay rise the political party is offering him. He is the ordinary man that makes corruption work, in some ways.

Majumdar centres the whole book around Jivan’s arrest and trial. She protests her innocence all the way through, but she is up against a system that is not designed to protect her. Unfortunately, the authorities want a scapegoat, and she’s it.

My biggest complaint about A Burning is the misleading blurb. I think it gives an impression of the novel that isn’t true. Lovely, for instance, does kind of hold an alibi for Jivan, but she isn’t risking anything by standing up for her. Not in the way the blurb makes out.

The other thing that let the novel down was the way Majumdar chose to write it. It’s more of an omniscient point of view, even though Majumdar does write some sections in the first person. So there’s a kind of distance between the reader and the characters. I never felt like I was truly in their head, feeling what they were feeling. It’s a very factual book, in that sense.

I did enjoy the politics in it, the discussion of power, and the exploration of corruption. Also, I enjoyed how the characters’ lives touched each other without them really knowing each other that well. I think the novel achieves what it sets out to achieve: it makes a political point. And that political point is a really important one.

Overall, I enjoyed the characters, and I enjoyed the story. Those two niggles let the book down for me, but Majumdar is an author I’ll be keeping an eye on

This stunning book caught my eye straight away and I loved the sound of the synopsis.

‘If the police didn’t help ordinary people like you and me, if the police watched them die, doesn’t that mean that the government is also a terrorist?’

Set in contemporary India, we uncover the story of three individuals; Jivan, Lovely and PT Sir. All dreaming of a better future, all connected and all whose lives change when they get caught up in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

I love books set with different points of view, and these three characters certainly hold their own in this book.
Jivan is a young, idealist Muslim woman but faces a possible death sentence after being accused of terrorist involvement. I really felt for her throughout the book as her naïvety shines through and it breaks your heart reading her story.
Lovely is a fascinating read and the conflict she faces is torturous. Her chapters are very easy to read, and again you can’t help but root for her!
PT Sir is another matter - he was once Jivan’s PE teacher who ultimately contributes to her downfall. Whilst his chapters were intriguing, I really found it hard to like him and sympathise with him.

This was a fascinating read, for me learning lots about the way politics and religion work in contemporary India but I also felt it was lacking something. I think I expected more about the terrorist side of things and the investigation into Jivan’s involvement, as opposed to her story mainly being set in prison.

I really like the writing style and it was a quick read for me, each chapter wanting to know more about what would happen next!

A thought-provoking and powerful debut novel from Megha Majumdar set in modern day Kolkata that deals with aspirations and moral choices of its characters set against a backdrop of corruption, nationalism, injustice and discrimination.

Its three point of view characters are Jivan, a young Muslim woman from the slums whose aspirations of middle class life are cut short by an accusation that she facilitated a terrorist attack on a train station; Lovely a hijra (trans woman) who dreams of becoming a Bollywood actress and whom Jivan was teaching English and PT Sir, Jivan’s former PE teacher who becomes involved with a Hindu nationalist political party for personal advancement. The narrative moves between the three characters with occasional interludes that shed further light on the events. I found the construction and the pacing excellent.

However, while I was impressed with the structure and the flow of the novel, I found its characters somewhat stereotypical and one dimensional. I felt as if I already knew them intimately, particularly PT Sir from other books.

Nevertheless, A Burning is highly commendable for the issues it raises. Three and a half stars.

My thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the opportunity to read Megha Majumdar’s debut. She is an author to watch.

This is a beautifully written moral nightmare of a book, set in the aftermath of a terrorist attack when emotions are running high. Three people's stories are intertwined as they try to balance their personal actions and opportunities for gain against the need to do the right thing for someone else's benefit.

The characters of Jivan, Lovely and PT Sir are well-drawn and very convincing in their portrayal and they are set in a very prescribed society where opportunities to succeed or move up don't always present themselves.

I really enjoyed the interplay of issues and characters, and the heartbreaking conclusion is haunting in its sadness and emptiness.

A heartbreaking but brilliant debut. The book focus on three strong characters all trying to better themselves. I don’t normally like books with politics in it but this worked so well and fitted the Indian background to the story. This was definitely an inspiring read

Wow what a debut! a brilliant and heart breaking novel set in contemporary India with three disparate characters trying to improve their lives with varying success. The author manages to weave hugely important issues such as politics, class, religion and justice into a page turning story .
Thank you to netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an advance copy of this book