I don't think I've ever read a book quite like Megha Majumdar's A Burning (#966). The truth is that I would probably never have picked it up if one of my book club friends hadn't told us that it was a powerful book.
Set in an unnamed big city in India, the basic plotline is about a terrorist attack on a train stopped at a station in an Indian slum. More than a hundred people are burned to death in the gruesome incident. It's the way Ms. Majumdar interweaves the stories of a twenty-something store clerk, a phys ed teacher, a lawyer and a transgender aspiring actress together in totally unexpected connections which makes this story so electrifying.
An innocent Facebook post can be traced by the police to create a suspect for the train attack to parade before the media. An ambitious politician sees the perfect way to boost support for her party and herself. Dangled career opportunities tempt otherwise staunch allies. It's the perfect storm of corruption, scapegoating, nationalism, bigotry and hatred with a young woman at its center. It's compelling reading, and, most frighteningly, easy to imagine something similar happening here.
It's hard to believe that this is Ms. Majumdar's first novel, it's so compact and powerfully readable. I will eagerly await her future works. Look A Burning up for yourself!
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