A Burning - Megha Majumdar

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 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 isan electrifying debut.