Tap cover to enlarge

A Burning

Published
Jun 2020
Main Genre
Literary Literary
Rating
Pages
304

About This Book

For readers of Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Jhumpa Lahiri, an electrifying debut novel 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 has the force of an epic while being so masterfully compressed it can be read in a single sitting. Majumdar writes with dazzling assurance at a breakneck pace on complex themes that read here as the components of a thriller: class, fate, corruption, justice, and what it feels like to face profound obstacles and yet nurture big dreams in a country spinning toward extremism. An extraordinary debut.

Awards

Time

2020 · Best Fiction Books

Genres & Themes

Subgenres

Buy This Book

Formats & Editions

Browse the different covers, formats, and publication history for this title.

Paperback

Paperback edition cover
Trade Paperback
Jul 2021 Vintage ISBN13 9780593081259 ISBN10 0593081250
Buy
Paperback edition cover
Paperback
Mar 2022 Simon & Schuster (UK) ISBN13 9781471190292 ISBN10 1471190293
Buy

Hardcover

Hardcover edition cover
Hardcover
First Edition Jun 2020 Knopf ISBN13 9780525658696 ISBN10 0525658696
Buy
Hardcover edition cover
Hardcover
Jan 2021 Simon & Schuster (UK) ISBN13 2928377050290
Hardcover edition cover
Hardcover
Jan 2021 Simon & Schuster (UK) ISBN13 9781471190261 ISBN10 1471190269
Buy

eBook

eBook edition cover
eBook
Jun 2020 McClelland & Stewart (Canada) ISBN13 9780771059841 ISBN10 0771059841
Buy
eBook edition cover
eBook
Jun 2020 Knopf ISBN13 9780525658702 ISBN10 052565870X
Buy
eBook edition cover
eBook
Jun 2020 Scribner ISBN13 9781471198878 ISBN10 1471198871
Buy
eBook edition cover
eBook
Jun 2020 Knopf ISBN10 B07XN7GJYD
Buy
eBook edition cover
eBook
Jun 2020 Scribner ISBN13 9781471190285 ISBN10 1471190285
Buy

Audio

Audio edition cover
Audible
Jun 2020 Random House Audio ISBN10 B081K9TRXF
Buy

Large Print

Large Print edition cover
Trade Paperback
Jun 2020 Diversified Publishing ISBN13 9780593214763 ISBN10 0593214765
Buy