A Guardian and a Thief: Oprah's Book Club

A Novel

De: Megha Majumdar

Narrado por: Leela Tapryal, Sid Sagar, Rajib Bhattacharya, Soneela Nankani, Reena Dutt, Shawn K. Jain, Mayuri Bhandari

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE • Megha Majumdar’s electrifying new novel, following her acclaimed New York Times bestseller A Burning, is set in a near-future Kolkata, India in which two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other. A piercing and propulsive tour de force.

FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK

“Wondering if there’s a novel out there that gives Cormac McCarthy’s The Road a run for its money? Here you go.”—Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra: A Life

In a near-future Kolkata, Ma, her two-year-old daughter, and her elderly father are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma’s husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma’s purse, containing their treasured immigration documents, has been stolen.

Set over the course of one week, A Guardian and a Thief tells two stories: the story of Ma’s frantic search for the thief while keeping hunger at bay during a worsening food shortage; and the story of Boomba, the thief, whose desperation to care for his family drives him to commit a series of escalating crimes whose consequences he cannot fathom. With stunning control and command, Megha Majumdar paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families, each operating from a place of ferocious love and undefeated hope, each discovering how far they will go to secure their children’s future as they stave off encroaching catastrophe.

A masterful new work from one of the most exciting voices of her generation.

Tender and timely

I read this without knowing a thing about the story or the author. The story couldn’t have been more truthful and relevant. I didn’t have the time, but I had to read the whole thing in one sitting.

Thought provoking

Creative use of language and complex characters. Morality questions that we are all faced with. What would you do under the same circumstances?

Depressing and sad

It’s a good story overall, but it just shows how hard things were for these people in current times. The unfairness of people’s realities while relative coming from an American citizen it seems horrendous. Great narration, tough storyline love how it shows just the intense need for survival even when it might cause you to question your moral code.

Shocking and sadly so believable

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar. This was my book club pick for January because I knew it would be highly provocative and discussable. It did not disappoint. In the not so distant future a woman secures a "climate Visa" to go to America with her young daughter and aging father. Her husband is already there working. Life in Kolkata has become one of desperation and fear. Floods related to climate change have decimated crops and animals and most food supplies. But the main character, Ma, has a way out and is determined to make sure she gets her daughter and father to a safer place. Unfortunately, Ma's purse is stolen along with her passports and visas. Desperate to save her family and get them to America, Ma seeks the "thief" and is willing to do anything to get her passports back. The thief, Boomba, has also suffered tragedy upon tragedy in this harsh New World of famine and floods and is also hell bent on saving his own family. The climactic ending was both shocking and sadly expected. This book really asks the question, who is the guardian and who is the thief? And will have the reader considering the option that we are all both. I tore through it in one sitting. Highly recommend.

Very Annoying and Unsatisfying Story

The writing was decent and the narration was very good, but the actual story itself was pretty unbearable. The only reason I finished this book is because it was not very long, and because I was waiting for all or at least some of the characters to reach some sort of redemption or enlightenment. Spoiler alert: they never do. It’s just one after another bewildering and absurdly bad decisions that make no sense at all, and then it just ends, with no resolution and no character evolution. Not only was this a waste of time, it was a constant source of extreme frustration at the stupidity of the characters’ actions.