A Burning by Megha Majumdar is a skilful debut about three unique characters whose lives intersect and change forever over one dramatic event, a catastrophe in modern-day India. Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, who gets accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is a gym teacher who gets involved with a ring-wing political party, and goes through a big professional and personal transformation. Lovely is poor, transgender and full of dreams about becoming an actress. Her voice delivered in broken English fills the novel with warmth and humour.

It's a fast-paced novel that can be read in one breath. Majumdar addresses complex themes, such as class, corruption, and justice, through an easily-readable narrative and loveable characters. I read some reviews that characterised the novel as political fiction, but my reading wasn't such. After all, politics is everything, and for me Majumdar achieved a perfect balance between laying out the questions she wanted to raise via a well-executed character and plot development. It's a fantastic debut and I'm looking forward to reading more from this fresh, new voice.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and #NetGalley for my advanced digital copy.

I love all things from India - Indian culture absolutely fascinates me!!! I watched Pataal Lok on Amazon Prime recently which I loved and was shocked yet gripped by Delhi Crime. A Burning seemed like the perfect antidote to fill in that empty gap and I promise you: this.Book.Is.Amazing.
I spend my Christmas Eve glued to my kindle, sucked into Jivaan’s story. A Burning follows 3 protagonists, whose lives intervene through the character of Jivaan, a young girl barely into her 20s who gets arrested after her Facebook page is spotted by the police where she foolishly has written a post condemning the Indian government for the terrorist attack on a Burning train. Her account history reveals that she was, unknowingly to Jivaan, chatting with a terrorist recruiter, and she’s arrested and practically being treated as guilty because she was spotted with a parcel and running away when the train was burning. Then we have Lovely, a transsexual who was being tutored in English by Jivaan. Lovely has aspirations to become a Bollywood actress but her testimony can come at a cost to her dreams. Then we have PT Sir, a gym teacher, who once taught Jivaan and harbours a grudge for her due to her ingratitude for his kindness when she was a scholarship student. PT Sir gets embroiled in a Nationalistic political party and his conscience becomes, as the story progresses, heavy as he does questionable things for a reward and a rise in class.
This is a character focussed book, rather than a plot focussed, and it’s difficult to slot this into a category. Yet the prose is compulsive and gripping. I’m surprised this is a debut because the author does an excellent job of fleshing out the three characters. Jivaan and Lovely are sympathetic female characters, victim to this oppressive country where they live. While PT Sir is a morally grey man, who increasingly has no problem enabling a corrupt and an unjust system to line his pockets, his character isn’t stereotyped at all, and the author does a commendable job in allowing him to justify his actions and drawing out his motivations. He’s a petty man, albeit a compelling one.
I was completely blown away by this debut!! An accomplished piece of writing. I hope to see this one being longlisted for awards because it’s a commendable piece of fiction.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc. I’m a huge Indian-phile, and the premise of A Burning is so urgent and captivating that I was immediately intrigued.
This follows three characters:
* Jivaan, which means to live, exemplifies a life oppressed being a Muslim in a Hindu majority country that is governed by an Hindu government and is becoming increasingly nationalistic and Muslim-phobic. Following a terrorist attack Jivaan naively posts a comment on Facebook condemning the government’s lack of action and the following day is arrested.
* Lovely - a hijra (transsexual) who has dreams of being a star, was being tutored by Jivaan. Her court testimony can set Jivaan free, but it’ll come at a cost to her ambition. What will Lovely do?
* PT Sir taught Jivaan. But PT is beginning to get caught up in a nationalist party, and Jivaan becomes a step in the ladder that can get him what he wants.
This is a character-driven read, with the story itself leading to an inevitably harrowing climax that despite its predictable made me cry and broke my heart 💔 While the characters are somewhat unlikeable I personally found them nonetheless compelling, with an unflinching and brutally honest voice. I think the author does a great job of describing the characters’ motivation and what drives them. The way the characters justify their actions to themselves is so relatable yet equally chilling. For me this book is urgent, necessary, angry and does a top-notch job in explaining India’s current turmoil. 5/5.

I received an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and the author Megha Majumdar.
There were many interesting elements to this book, especially around Indian culture and politics, but unfortunately the overwhelming feeling I am left with is that it was only 'ok'.
There wasn't much of a story, and the characters weren't particularly involving or well developed. The story had potential though, if only with a little more detail and depth. 3 stars.

A Burning by Megha Majumdar is a powerful novel set in Calcutta tracking the interweaved stories of 3 characters – Jivan, Lovely and PT Sir

Jivan is a young muslim woman who is wrongly accused of aiding terrorists in firebombing a train when she was only carrying a parcel of old school books for Lovely. Lovely is a Hijra who is set on pursuing her career as an actress who is being taught English by Jivan. PT Sir is a PT teacher who used to teach Jivan and is now intent soon becoming politician in the opposition party.

Some ill advised social media activity puts Jivan in the frame for the firebombing when the police cannot trace the perpetrators. Someone has to be responsible and it looks as if it will be Jivan, both Lovely and PT Sir are witnesses for the defence. As the narrative evolves you wonder whether either will stand up for Jivan, leading to a good twist at the end.

Burning is a compelling read which brings an insight into the under class in Calcutta and the corruption of local politics. Read it!

This is the story of three interconnected people. At the center, we have Jivan, a muslim girl who gets charged of being involved in a train bombing. To say her life has been difficult is to put it mildly. Through the interviews she gives to a journalist we hear an account of her life, her sacrifices and dreams.
The other two characters are PT Sir, Jivan's old teacher who helped her when her family was struggling and who has now become a politician.
The third character is Lovely, a hijra from the same slum as Jivan. She wants to be an actress, so she was learning English from Jivan before her arrest. Lovely puts her all hard-earned money into acting classes hoping that she will someday be discovered and become a movie star.

The story talks about these three characters, but it's much more than that. It depicts life and politics in India. It's a story about how power corrupts people, how the poor live, how friendships are affected by life choices. The characters are greatly defined and there's development (for better or worse) in all of them.

I loved this book. The three points of view are clearly distinct from each other. I was at first a bit confused, but quickly got into it. Lovely's style grew on me, although at the beginning I found her use of grammar a bit annoying. By the middle of the book I couldn't get enough of her!

All in all, an exceptional debut novel.

“Many years ago I would have been asking why is this happening? But now I am knowing that there is no use asking these questions. In life, many things are happening for no reason at all.”

A Burning follows Jivan, Lovely and PT Sir whose lives are inextricably linked and a single event causes major change in all of their lives. After a terrorist attack on her local station, Jivan is accused of assisting the terrorists after she posts a controversial opinion online. Her alibi is Lovely, an aspiring actress who she was helping to teach English. And as Jivan falls, imprisoned and facing the court of public opinion, her old teacher PT Sir is experiencing a monumental rise as he becomes affiliated with a political party. We follow the three characters over the course of Jivan's imprisonment and trial, as the decisions they make impact one another.

A Burning was unlike anything I have ever read before and truly pushed me out of my comfort zone. It forced me to examine a justice system I'm unfamiliar with, a situation of political unrest I'm lucky to have never experienced, and found me wondering what exactly I would do in each of these characters' situations. All three of these characters made decisions that I could see were perhaps not the best, but I found myself unable to blame them for doing so. All three were just trying to do the best for themselves they could in a system that was set up to punish those who dare to be different.

Each of the characters was so richly written that I felt I knew them very well by the end of it, I could see where their paths were heading and I felt unable to look away. The ending still hit me like a brick though, I knew what the inevitable outcome was but still. like our characters, I dared to hope for something better.

Instantly absorbing, and a really interesting portrayal of how politics and personal circumstances change your choices, ethics and morals

I read an ARC via Netgalley

Told by alternating narrators the story centres on a young woman accused of a terrorist act. She is jailed based on little more than evidence that she was at the train station. We gradually learn how she came to live in the city, the story of her family's poverty. A hijra*, Lovely, tells her story of exclusion and of ambition to be an actress. And "PT Sir" (he's a sports teacher) gives his account of climbing the greasy pole of politics, witnessing abject poverty, promising much and supporting communal violence. Although Lovely offers some light relief with her wonderful ambition in the face of almost universal ridicule, there are no happy endings here. Majumdar looks directly at poverty and corruption and creates a narrative that asks hard questions about all those who choose not to see those suffering from bad government. Sometimes I felt as though I was reading from behind my fingers and had to put the book down for a bit. So not a light read by any means. But a powerful one.

"When Bimala Pal speaks next, he understands that she has known what happened all along.

If anybody asks, she tells him, PT Sir is to say that the unstable brick house in which the man was living collapsed. It spontaneously collapsed. And how does PT Sir know? He was doing a rally nearby. It is true that the house did collapse—when the party wrecked it with hammer and ax. It is true that the house did fall upon a man who died.

All of that is true, Bimala Pal reminds him, a gentle smile on her face."

I liked the story but in the end it wasn't for me. I think my issue was with the writing style, i just couldn't get into the story and i had a difficult time enjoying this book

Megha Majumdar’s ‘A Burning’ is an incredibly powerful debut. While the book follows three very different characters – Jivan, a poor Muslim girl from the slums, Lovely, an outcast wishing to become an actress, and PT Sir, a teacher – it is Jivan’s story that frames ‘A Burning’. Her story is affected by Lovely and PT Sir, her life in the powers of those who can affect her future.

All stories in the book are powerful and give the reader a great insight into the culture and politics of India. They all are also incredibly painful and heartbreaking. ‘A Burning’ is not an easy read, and it took me longer to read than expected, but it handles heavy topics well.

In the beginning, I wasn’t convinced about the interchanging narration, with Jivan speaking to us in the first person, and the others not, but the changing and shifting narration and portrayal of the story in Megha Majumdar’s debut underlined the numerous voices and diverse stories features in ‘A Burning’.

While painful at moments, I would definitely recommend reading ‘A Burning’. While Lovely was probably my favourite character in the book, it is Jivan’s story that will stay with me for a long time.

This is beautifully written and a powerful story. Set in India, Jivan witnesses a terrorist attack on a train and foolishly writes a Facebook message critical of the government. She is then caught up in the aftermath of the attack as the government looks for someone to blame. Told through three separate narrators they have very different voices and it is sobering to see how self interest trumps the truth.

I’m jumping on the bandwagon with this one!

A Burning, which will probably sound familiar to some readers as it’s currently on most best of the year lists, is a brilliant debut from Megha Majumdar. Set in India it follows three characters. Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, accused of aiding a terrorist train attack because of a flyaway comment posted on social media. PT Sir is a P.E. teacher who suddenly finds himself rising within the ranks of a right-wing political party. Lovely is an aspiring actress, looking for her big break. All three of these characters are connected and more importantly, both Lovely and PT Sir could be the key to setting Jivan free.

There is an instant connection and understanding of the characters in this book, both those likable and those not. The powerlessness of Jivan’s situation is incredibly effective and feels frighteningly real. With PT Sir, you feel like you’re in the crowd when he jumps up on stage ad wait with bated breath to see what happens next. And with Lovely, you just want to see her dreams come true.

The writer is tackling and addressing a huge range of themes and issues and for a relatively short book, instead of feeling unfinished or stretched, it is instead powerful and fast moving, in parts reading like a thriller.

It’s a powerful debut, and I look forward to seeing what Majumdar writes next.

A Burning was published in the US in June of this year. It will be published in the UK on 21 January, 2021. My thanks to Netgalley and Scribner UK for my advance copy.

There has been much said about this novel; from glowing reviews to heavy criticism. Personally, I find myself sat in a central position - parts were enjoyable and others lost my interest.

Jivan's opening commentary on Facebook sets an excellent hook for the rest of the novel; her 'implication' in the crime and her own comments against the government made for an interesting central plot point and some burning commentary from the author's point of view about her home country's political structure. Admittedly, I don't have a strong working knowledge of the systems in play but I am aware of the cultural, religious and political binaries at work in the novel through previous experiences. Perhaps for those less familiar with Indian literature, this book may be more difficult to get to grips with.

Personally, there was a quality to the style that I found I couldn't get into; I didn't feel absorbed in the story, almost watching from a surface level. I didn't find it gripping or suspenseful as others have indicated. Perhaps this is because I found myself more often reading between the lines and thinking about the bigger themes at play - self expression, femininity, power struggle, reputation, but to name a few. Because this novel is so short, it felt to me that some of the things left unsaid have played on my mind more. Despite this, the writing is accessible and, because of the short length, it is an easy book to read in one sitting as I did. A testament to its interesting characters and pacing.

Out of the trio of perspectives followed, I found PT Sir's most engaging. At first his character didn't seem as clear as Jivan's or Lovely's but, as the story developed, his choices became the most interesting and critical. His hunger for power in a strangely submissive way was such an interesting assent to read; was his success worth it at the cost of Jivan's reputation? The culmination of the ending felt powerful and moving, and was worth continuing through this novel to reach.

Overall, an enjoyable read that I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience but this isn't a book I can see myself returning to to read time again. Despite this, it has prompted lots of conversations which I feel is the desired aim of a book and will hopefully continue to do so for other readers.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this arc.

A simple, ill-advised facebook comment starts a domino effect that almost instantly transforms the life of Jivan, Lovely and PT Sir. Although a simple enough story, the Burning by Megha Majumdar tackles a lot of subjects taboo for public discussion in India such as terrorism and its aftermath, the rampant Islamophobia that’s currently gripping the nation, sensationalistic tendencies of today’s media, the openly corrupt political parties and utterly gullible citizens.

The novel’s characters shine off the page, each as distinct as they can be from one another. Jivan’s story is one of fear. Her fears of a lifetime of insurmountable poverty, a life of oppression and, later on in the story, a life of being marked a terrorist and staying a prisoner. Just like the flame of a long-burning candle slowly dying out, you can feel the hopeful Jivan slowly lose her optimism with every new chapter.

On the other hand, Megha masterfully shows the price of freedom and success with the other characters. The hope that deserts Jivan suddenly floods the life of Lovely and PT Sir. They are given fame and opportunities they never imagined before - at a small cost, of course. The rest, I’d leave for you to read and find out.

However, the novel is not without its flaws. The bad grammar, the odd use of POV and tense makes it really hard to be fully immersed in the story. While I do understand that it was a stylistic choice to depict character voices, it did disrupt the reading experience, pulling me out of the story many times over.

Poignant and timely, The Burning is a book that must be read, particularly in today’s social climate. Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for the ARC.

Brilliant debut novel.

This was such a fantastic read with such diverse, three-dimensional characters and themes ranging from terrorism to transgender identity to Islamaphobia. The story follows the three completely different protagonists as they navigate poverty, racism and life’s everyday struggles in India.

Aside from the excellent writing and superbly diverse characters and plot, I found that this novel gave such an interesting insight into Indian culture, as well as an intensely thought provoking exploration of human nature. A must read.

What a lovely debut! The premise is very intereseting and relevant and I loved the authors choice for 3 narrators. Jivan was my favorite. This book really took me to India and I enjoyed Reading it a lot.

A vibrant and thrilling book. Set in an Indian slum, Jivan is a mildly rebellious teenager whose father is disabled and whose mother supports the family. She witnessed a terrorist attack on a train, and after commenting on Facebook she is accused of terrorism herself. The plot is all too believable, and shows the difficulties faced by women, the working class, Muslims and other minorities in India. The two other main characters are a hijra called Lovely that Jivan was teaching English to, and her old PE teacher. Both these characters are tempted to betray Jivan in order to gain what they want- an acting career and political influence. It was a sad book, but memorable, and a reflection on human nature.

4.5 stars!

In short: what a debut! I can highly recommend this read not only for getting a taste of Indian culture and the problems the country faces — from islamophobia and classism to transphobia and corruption — but also to gain better insight into human nature. Go read it.

For some background: The three protagonists of this book, Jivan, a Muslim girl falsely accused of committing a terrorist attack, PT Sir, a PE teacher at a good, middle-class school, who, by mere chance, gets involved with his state’s opposition (and anti-Muslim) party, and Lovely, a trans woman with Bollywood aspirations, have one thing in common: they all want to better themselves and rise above their current stations in life.

As their paths cross, questions of morality, ambition and guilt are at the forefront: is it right to better yourself at the expense of another? Is your own path to success more important than someone else’s? Who do you become by playing into a corrupt system to improve your own lot in life? What are you willing to do, to sacrifice, to be seen? Are you guilty by staying silent when your voice could save another?

The author deals with these questions and more in a mere 300 pages. I raced through this book in a weekend, unable to put it down, needing to know more. As a Western reader, you can’t help but think that the gullibility and naivety seen in some of the actions by the protagonists, or the lack of justice and widespread racism, could’t possibly be found in our very own, sophisticated societies — and then we turn on the news!

An impressive debut, by Megha Majumdar; definitely a writer to watch. She uses three linked insignificant characters living in poverty and through them, explores some huge themes: justice, politics, ambition, equality and how our integrity can be challenged fairly easily in the modern world of mass media and the drive to be noticed.
A dramatic and traumatic opening leads the spirited and talented Moslem girl Jivan to post a fatally careless political remark on Facebook. Superbly original Hijra character the energetic and passionate Lovely, could provide a desperately needed alibi to save Jivan, but is aching to become a film star, and cannot resist the offer made from a leading film producer. Add PT Sir to the mix, tempted with the offer of becoming a political heavyweight if he withdraws his support of Jivan, and her agony knows no end.
An exciting new voice who deserves and must be heard.
Thank you #NetGalley and #SimonsndSchusterUK for me pre-release download.