Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
A Burning  By  cover art

A Burning

By: Megha Majumdar
Narrated by: Vikas Adam, Priya Ayyar, Deepti Gupta, Soneela Nankani, Neil Shah, Ulka Simone Mohanty
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.75

Buy for $15.75

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

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 riseto the middle class, to political power, to fame in the moviesand 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. Lovelyan irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth and hope and humorhas 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.

©2020 Megha Majumdar (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

WINNER OF THE WHITING AWARD • A New York Times Notable Book • National Book Award Nominee • One of the Guardian's Best Books of the Year • National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award Nominee • American Library Accociation Andrew Carnegie Medal Finalist

"Riveting. . . . Fate has rarely been so many-faced, so muscular, so mercurial, or so mesmerizing as it is in A Burning."—The New York Times Book Review (cover)

"Powerful... propulsive...This is a book to relish for its details, for the caress of the writer’s gaze against the world... The interplay of choice and circumstance has always been the playing field of great fiction, and on this terrain, a powerful new writer stakes her claim."—Parul Sehgal, The New York Times

Featured Article: The Best Indian Authors to Listen to Right Now


"India," to quote actress and human rights activist Shabana Azmi, "is a country that lives in several centuries simultaneously." Just as those different time periods seem to coexist in one place, so do the voices of brilliant literary talents. Each of these writers and their works have contributed to help the world better understand this expansive country and its beautiful, multifaceted culture, whether it be from within India’s own borders or through the memory of its customs and traditions from distant continents.

What listeners say about A Burning

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    511
  • 4 Stars
    352
  • 3 Stars
    141
  • 2 Stars
    42
  • 1 Stars
    16
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    664
  • 4 Stars
    168
  • 3 Stars
    57
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    443
  • 4 Stars
    277
  • 3 Stars
    127
  • 2 Stars
    38
  • 1 Stars
    18

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book and superb narration!

Wow, thisnis an amazing political fiction with superb performances from all the narrators, I couldn't stop listening!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic, heartbreaking

There is no silver lining, or happy storyline to lift the reader’s spirit throughout the book. The story follows themes of politics, justification and morality. I appreciate the story’s brevity which balanced character development and detail, with meaningful messages.

Not a lighthearted, feel-good read. But if this story is true to reality, then it is a powerful and sobering story to hear. One that would make a fantastic basis for academic discussion.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great read

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A good read book

Loved it. A sad but easy read and well connected book! How a much young non native writers first attempt can be so awesome!! I was recalling my Bengal vividly

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stunning Debut!

The three main characters are so well developed they will not leave your thoughts. Lovely, the superstar of this novel, is so honest and refreshing, her inner dialogue was pure and genuine. The Weasel, you will know which character I am referring to as you read, is despicable. At first, you think it's naivete, but you quickly realize it's not. Then there is the Sacrifice with a small voice in a world that is overshadowed by power and corruption. Integrity is on full display in this heartbreaking read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant first novel

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • TT
  • 11-02-20

Excellent!

I found this book to be one of the best I have listened to this year! This was a multi-layered,
story with many themes. Loved the performances by the narrators.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!