A Burning by Megha Majumdar (Simon & Schuster)
proof copy
Again regular readers may realise that this book was actually in my top 10 for 2020 but that I hadn't reviewed it. I was a bit sneaky adding it to last year's top reads as it was only published a few weeks ago - in 2021.
However this was a book that really made an impact on me and was certainly one of the best books I did read last year so I bent my (pretty non-existent) blogging rules!
This book brings to light a lot of inequalities that exist in modern India and very much like Two Tress Make a Forest and Kim YiJung, born 1982 really made me reconsider my opinions on the nation.
The book has a simple plot outline:
Set in contemporary India, Majumdar’s debut is a pulsating character study based in the aftermath of a terrorist attack and the complex, conflicting legacy that the atrocity unleashes on ordinary people’s lives.
but is so much deeper than this. It brings to light the stories of minorities and also shows how quickly someone can be radicalised. It also shows the dangers of social media, albeit in an extreme manner.
I'm loathe to say too much about the book as the gentle (and not so gentle) unfolding of the story is one of the best things about it. In many ways the tone of the story reminded me of The Reluctant Fundamentalist and how that made me think when I read it. For a debut book this is astounding and Majumdar is definitely an author who's next book I will be eagerly awaiting.
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