A Burning

This book suffered from the hype. It has great momentum, and the author has a good eye for detail and description, but I found it lacking in nuance and depth. The characters were flat, and I was especially frustrated at the choice of a transgender as one of the characters, following soon after such a choice in Arundhati Roy’s most recent novel. Could not see why this was critical to the story other than the easy poignancy her situation offers. The broken English used for her throughout also seemed an odd choice – I can understand it in dialog but not to describe her interior thoughts. The teacher’s trajectory and story were the most interesting and well-threshed out.

Though sent in contemporary India, the thoughts, feelings, and issues are universal truths that are reflected in today’s Black Lives Matter. The covid-19 epidemic has also pointed out the disparity and injustice in the world. How do you persist when you live in a society that does not recognize you while you have vast hopes and dreams for your future? How do you persist when you have an oppressive society that does not acknowledge who you are so you battle to rise above your circumstances? These ruminations are interwoven in this book as reflected in 3 characters who each have a distinct voice. Jivan, a Muslim girl, living in a Kolkata slum is accused of a terrorist crime she did not commit but was convicted and sentenced to jail. Where was the evidence and was she sentenced because of her poor underprivileged status ? Or was it religious circumstances observe in the religious struggles between the Hindus and Muslims? PT Sir is a teacher desirous of power and becomes attached to a right wing party and advances while compromising his values. Finally there is Lovely, a delightful hijra who though not book smart, lives with determination, wanting passionately to become a famous actress. They all know Jivan and their connection to her becomes an important strand. One of the threads that ties these characters together is their grit, inventiveness, and intelligence, something I have observed in my few times in India. This is a wondrous novel that highlights gender differences, class struggles, and the corruption of a system .
Does anyone recognize this? Another do not miss book!

There are a variety of takeaways on this book. My primary thought as I read it was, Im so thankful to live in the USA! The lifestyles of India portrayed in this book are sad, poor and hopeless.

My takeaway:

1. An innocent young woman is thrown into jail for a crime she did not commitall because of her comment on social media. The people are demanding justice and they want someone arrested. The jail is described like something from the dark ages.

2. Along comes the press-which lies, twists the stories, tells half truths and incites the people to blame and hate with no interest in learning the truth. The press has their narrative and they control the people.

3. Then there are the corrupt politicians who lie, bribe and coerce to achieve the judgments and sentences they want so theyll gain votes, power and wealth.

Sadly, when I think about it, this seems to be where our great country is headed if we do not research, listen and think for ourselves.

This novel fails (and fails badly) for a few reasons.

First, the author never satisfyingly braids the three storylines together. Remarkably, the three main characters are only in the same room with each other once, and in this scene they can’t see each other due a curtain separating them. How do you build conflict between characters who never interact? Answer: you don’t.

Second, the transgender woman’s thread is laughably irrelevant. The author appears to have snacked on an edgy, hot-button issue then decided she didn’t want it for an entree. The character itself, Lovely, has no interest in the condemned girl and barely bats an eye at the moment of her Big Moral Challenge (become a movie star or take up with a convicted terrorist–hmm, tough choice). If a major character doesn’t care about the plot she’s in, why should we? And why is her interior voice delivered to us in broken English? Does this Indian person really think in broken English and not her native tongue? Of course not. Perhaps the author, whose sentences are roughly at the Dick-and-Jane level, felt more comfortable in this mode; or perhaps thought it would sound cooler. The problem is it’s fatally illogical.

Third, the characters are totally unappealing, but not interestingly unappealing. The transgender person is vapid and shallow and remains so throughout the novel. The condemned girl is angry and hopeless and remains so throughout the novel. The gym teacher is the only one of the three who changes, but his arc is obvious from the get-go and proceeds basically unimpeded throughout (his own moral crisis is as brief as tea on a horse).

My question is, who stands behind this drivel and why? Like the condemned girl in the novel, it’s time people made their voices heard, in this case decrying the phony publishing business that packages amateurism like this and calls it literature.

I don’t know what to say really. The book is pretty depressing, but really illuminating at the same time. I’ll leave it at that. Very easy to read, paints the major themes early, and not at all condescending or pretentious. A sad tale but worth every minute of your time.

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