{"product_id":"a-burning-a-read-with-jenna-pick-isbn-9780593081259","title":"A Burning: A Read with Jenna Pick","description":"\u003cb\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER • A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK! \u003cb\u003e• A \"gripping thriller with compassionate social commentary\"  (\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e) about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003eto the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003eand find their lives entangled in the wake of a catastrophe in contemporary India.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJivan 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\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003ean irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth and hope and humor\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003ehas the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTaut, symphonic, propulsive, and riveting from its opening lines, \u003ci\u003eA Burning\u003c\/i\u003e is an electrifying debut.\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE WHITING AWARD \u003cb\u003e•\u003c\/b\u003e A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book \u003cb\u003e•\u003c\/b\u003e National Book Award Nominee \u003cb\u003e• One of the Guardian's Best Books of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e• National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award Nominee • American Library Accociation Andrew Carnegie Medal Finalist \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Riveting. . . . Fate has rarely been so many-faced, so muscular, so mercurial, or so mesmerizing as it is in \u003ci\u003eA Burning\u003c\/i\u003e.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—The \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book Review (cover)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Powerful... propulsive...This is a book to relish for its details, for the caress of the writer’s gaze against the world... The interplay of choice and circumstance has always been the playing field of great fiction, and on this terrain, a powerful new writer stakes her claim.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Parul Sehgal, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Majumdar demonstrates an uncanny ability to capture the vast scope of a tumultuous society by attending to the hopes and fears of people living on the margins. The effect is transporting.”\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Ron Charles, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Immersive. . . . Masterly. . . . the elements of a thriller are transmuted into prismatic portraiture. . . . Her spare plot moves with arrowlike determination.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—James Wood, \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eA Burning\u003c\/i\u003e lays bare the urgent need for a justice system that upholds its ideals, elegantly excoriating a world where corruption and inequity rot the lives of those wrongly viewed as disposable. In blistering, beautiful prose, Majumdar illuminates the dark truths of the modern world, while also celebrating the burning deep in the hearts of strivers everywhere.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In her captivating debut novel \u003ci\u003eA Burning\u003c\/i\u003e, Megha Majumdar presents a powerful corrective to the political narratives that have dominated in contemporary India.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eTime \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A story you’ll want to read in just one sitting. . . . A thrilling and complex tale.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—CNN\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A scorching and intimate look at those who find themselves bearing the full brunt of an enormous, diverse society’s prejudices and passions. . . . \u003ci\u003eA Burning\u003c\/i\u003e is a taut, propulsive and devastating debut novel.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Combines fast-paced plotting with the kind of atmospheric detail one might find in the work of Jhumpa Lahiri or Daniyal Mueenuddin. . . . A highly compelling read”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Vogue\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Precise, human and powerful. You can feel these big intersecting currents of history, progress and technology pulling these three characters in, crushing one of them and propelling the others to great heights. It’s a really tight read. I read it in one sitting.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“One of the most invigorating debuts in recent memory. . . . \u003ci\u003eA Burning\u003c\/i\u003e is like a sparking power line, releasing jolts of bright light, humor and compassion.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eZyzzyva\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] rich debut novel. . . . \u003ci\u003eA Burning\u003c\/i\u003e forces us to see the inequities in this world, and the way desire for freedom is so often thwarted, especially for those less fortunate, by those around them.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePloughshares\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[\u003ci\u003eA Burning\u003c\/i\u003e] is fast-paced enough to feel like a literary thriller, yet also turns a wise eye toward the complexities of life in contemporary India. . . . A novel for our times.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Chicago Review of Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A haunting portrait of a country and city steeped in nationalism, \u003ci\u003eA Burning\u003c\/i\u003e splits open society and presents it, three ways, for our consideration.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—The Rumpus \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Powerful . . . a gripping thriller with compassionate social commentary. . . . It’s hard not to feel intense heartache while reading \u003ci\u003eA Burning\u003c\/i\u003e. Majumdar's powerful debut is carefully crafted for maximum impact, carving out the most urgent parts of its characters for the whole world to see. This novel rightfully commands attention.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Polyphonic . . . Lovely is a particular gem. . . . brilliant”  \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eMegha Majumdar\u003c\/b\u003e was born and raised in Kolkata, India. She moved to the United States to attend college at Harvard University, followed by graduate school in social anthropology at Johns Hopkins University. She works as an editor at \u003ci\u003eCatapult \u003c\/i\u003eand lives in New York City. \u003ci\u003eA Burning\u003c\/i\u003e is her first book.JIVAN\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“You smell like smoke,” my mother said to me.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eSo I rubbed an oval of soap in my hair and poured a whole bucket of water on myself before a neighbor complained that I was wasting the morning supply.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThere was a curfew that day. On the main street, a police jeep would creep by every half hour. Daily-wage laborers, compelled to work, would come home with arms raised to show they had no weapons.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn bed, my wet hair spread on the pillow, I picked up my new phone—purchased with my own salary, screen guard still attached.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOn Facebook, there was only one conversation.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThese terrorists attacked the wrong neighborhood #KolabaganTrainAttack #Undefeated\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFriends, if you have fifty rupees, skip your samosas today and donate to—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe more I scrolled, the more Facebook unrolled.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThis news clip exclusively from 24 Hours shows how—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCandlelight vigil at—\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe night before, I had been at the railway station, no more than a fifteen-minute walk from my house. I ought to have seen the men who stole up to the open windows and threw flaming torches into the halted train. But all I saw were carriages, burning, their doors locked from the outside and dangerously hot. The fire spread to huts bordering the station, smoke filling the chests of those who lived there. More than a hundred people died. The government promised compensation to the families of the dead—eighty thousand rupees!—which, well, the government promises many things.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn a video, to the dozen microphones thrust at his chin, the chief minister was saying, “Let the authorities investigate.” Somebody had spliced this comment with a video of policemen scratching their heads. It made me laugh.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eI admired these strangers on Facebook who said anything they wanted to. They were not afraid of making jokes. Whether it was about the police or the ministers, they had their fun, and wasn’t that freedom? I hoped that after a few more salary slips, after I rose to be a senior sales clerk of Pantaloons, I would be free in that way too.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThen, in a video clip further down the page, a woman came forward, her hair flying, her nose running a wet trail down to her lips, her eyes red. She was standing on the sloping platform of our small railway station. Into the microphone she screamed: “There was a jeep full of policemen right there. Ask them why they stood around and watched while my husband burned. He tried to open the door and save my daughter. He tried and tried.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eI shared that video. I added a caption.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ePolicemen paid by the government watched and did nothing while this innocent woman lost everything, I wrote.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eI laid the phone next to my head, and dozed. The heat brought sleep to my eyes. When I checked my phone next, there were only two likes. A half hour later, still two likes.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThen a woman, I don’t know who, commented on my post, How do you know this person is not faking it? Maybe she wants attention!\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eI sat up. Was I friends with this person? In her profile picture she was posing in a bathroom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDid you even watch the video? I replied.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe words of the heartless woman drifted in my mind. I was irritated by her, but there was excitement too. This was not the frustration of no water in the municipal pump or power cut on the hottest night. Wasn’t this a kind of leisure dressed up as agitation?\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eFor me, the day was a holiday, after all. My mother was cooking fish so small we would eat them bones and tail. My father was taking in the sun, his back pain eased.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eUnder my thumb, I watched post after post about the train attack earn fifty likes, a hundred likes, three hundred likes. Nobody liked my reply.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAnd then, in the small, glowing screen, I wrote a foolish thing. I wrote a dangerous thing, a thing nobody like me should ever think, let alone write.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eForgive me, Ma.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIf the police didn’t help ordinary people like you and me, if the police watched them die, doesn’t that mean, I wrote on Facebook, that the government is also a terrorist?\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOutside the door, a man slowly pedaled his rickshaw, the only passenger his child, the horn going paw paw for her glee.","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302689820901,"sku":"NP9780593081259","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593081259.jpg?v=1767720326","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/a-burning-a-read-with-jenna-pick-isbn-9780593081259","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}