A Guardian and a Thief: Oprah's Book Club

A Novel

By: Megha Majumdar

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

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

“Wondering if there’s a novel out there that gives Cormac McCarthy’s The Road a run for its money? Here you go. [A Guardian and a Thief is] an indelible piece of writing, in equal parts dazzling and devastating.”—Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra: A Life

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.

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.

Variations on desperation

Amazing and tragic story. Beautiful writing and performance. A very gifted writer.
I’ll watch for her next book!

I hated the narration! That empathetic upspeach.

An important story, butte writing was poor (or was it a transition?), and the narration drove me nuts.

A slow examination of poverty and need

This was a beautifully written story and reminded me of the forgotten injustices of the world.

Clever twists

Every few quick minutes something happens that raises or eyebrows and grabs your attention or more. It’s excellent fiction

a garden and a theft

It was but, a little long in disruption at times . The narrators where good, I liked the characters.

Description

The ending seemed quite blunt and unexpected like the author just tired of the story.

Ma

I really enjoyed this book, such a good story and great narrative. It kept you guessing as to what was going to happen and how the characters would react. I also liked that it wasn’t terribly long, so it was very easy to listen to on Audible.