Book Review: A Burning by Megha Majumdar

A Burning by Megha Majumdar
Publisher: Knopf
Publication Date: June 2, 2020
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

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 humor—has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.

Something Jivan, a young Muslim woman living in the slums of India, posts on Facebook results in her being arrested and falsely accused of participating in an act of terrorism. Her old gym teacher is a rising figure in a right-wing political party and he can’t help her without hurting himself. Then there is Lovely, a hijra with big dreams of becoming a Bollywood star – is she willing to sacrifice anything to help Jivan?

From what I’ve read about the current political state in India, the author did a great job of capturing what it feels like to live there right now, especially for the lower class. I was grateful for Lovely – she was charming and funny. Her turn at the narration was a nice break from reading about Jivan’s hopeless situation. I didn’t know anything about hijras before a read this book – they are a third gender recognized in India. I’m intrigued and plan to learn more about them.

A Burning was beautifully written and just heart-wrenching. The plotting was excellent – it’s billed as a thriller and it does definitely have some twists and turns. I enjoyed it.