Set in contemporary West Bengal, A Burning by Megha Majumdar confronts India's unsettling lurch toward extreme nationalism, a movement that threatens to destabilize the world's most populous democracy. A young Muslim woman is blamed for a terrorist attack, not by virtue of compelling evidence but because of her questionable loyalty to the motherland.
That woman is Jivan. She lives with her parents in a slum near a railway station. Her troubles begin one terrible night when, after a train filled with passengers is set on fire, witnesses claim to have seen her fleeing the scene of the crime. Already a suspect, Jivan writes a provocative Facebook post designed to generate "likes," which triggers her arrest. So begins an investigation tainted by breathtaking levels of corruption on the part of police and politicians looking to bolster their popularity.
Majumdar's impressive debut features intricately layered subplots expanding on themes of class, religious tension and discrimination toward India's transgender community. Jivan's neighbor is a transgender actress named Lovely who is on the cusp of hard-earned stardom. She is a hijra, officially recognized in many parts of the Indian sub-continent as a third gender. As the case against Jivan builds, Lovely must determine how much she is willing to sacrifice to help her.
A Burning moves at a suspenseful pace with the same powerful drive toward a conclusion as Kamila Shamsie's Homefire. Majumdar is a phenomenal new voice posing a daring question: Can Indian society as it exists today ever be impartial? -- Shahina Piyarali, writer and reviewer