A Burning: A Read with Jenna Pick

A Novel

By: Megha Majumdar

Narrated by: Vikas Adam, Priya Ayyar, Deepti Gupta, Ulka Simone Mohanty, Soneela Nankani, Neil Shah

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK! • A "gripping thriller with compassionate social commentary" (USA Today) about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise—to the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies—and find their lives entangled in the wake of a catastrophe in contemporary India.

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.

Taut, symphonic, propulsive, and riveting from its opening lines, A Burning is an electrifying debut.

Brilliant first novel

A superb first novel told in voices which also make for a superb audiobook. My favorite so far this year!!!

Heartbreaking….

Outstanding debut, characters that live beyond the pages, vivid images of modern life in a caste society, so painfully relevant, even in the West. Worth every minute!

Hope Doesn't Win in this One

The characters are great, the narrators that voice them are excellent, but I wanted things to be less realistic and there to be some happiness at the end. I guess when it comes to fiction, I prefer it to allow me to escape to places that end in less heartache.

As a study of corrupt politics, selfishness, the fickleness of humanity, how those with more power take advantage of those with less, and how hardship influences the need to put oneself first, this certainly gives good fodder for book club discussions.

Hard to believe this could really happen

The best part of reading is learning about other cultures. I listened to this one twice (rare for me) because I felt like I missed a lot of “clues” the first time. It’s a complex story about a culture I know very little about. It’s political too. All countries have issues with politics.

Great read

The storyline was fantastic. Easy read! I loved how the audible story had different voices for different characters. Highly recommend!!