"A Burning" by Megha Majumdar

A Burning tells the story of class aspirations through three characters: Jivan, a Muslim girl living in the slums; PT Sir, a physical education teacher at a girls' school; and Lovely, a hijra who wants to be an actor. As in many stories (particularly many of the stories set in India that I've read), poverty is a primary obstacle, but so too is discrimination. Jivan, part of a Muslim minority, is framed for the bombing of a train station. Her poverty and religion make her an easy target, but so too is her belief that she can make it, that she can rise out of the slums. She's able to be framed because of her job at a retail shop which gives her some money and thus access to a phone and the internet. Ironically, had she been resigned to her life in poverty, there would have been no "evidence" to use against her. Even while in jail, she retains the hopeful belief that once people hear her story, they'll understand she's innocent. As before, it's her belief that she can better herself--the "work hard and you'll make it" attitude we so prize--that blinds her to reality. It reminded me very much of Gatsby, despite being set worlds apart.

In The Great Gatsby, all the characters who try to rise above their impoverished roots are "punished" for their hope. However, in A Burning some do succeed. The reader roots for Lovely from the moment they meet her. Her joyous energy and optimism stand in contrast with all those around her. But she also seems hopelessly naive, and I assumed Mr. Debnath, her acting teacher, was only taking advantage of her. As a transgender woman, she actively faces discrimination and has few employment opportunities. Yet, shockingly, she is discovered. She ends the book acting in a big-budget film that respects her experiences as a hijra. She does walk away from her friendship with Jivan, who had been teaching her English, but it's not a stunning betrayal--Jivan's fate was already sealed. But even separate from her relationship with Jivan, her success is bittersweet. Lovely makes it, but her success doesn't undo the the discrimination and poverty most of her hijra sisters face. It doesn't make the entertainment industry or the economic system broadly more fair or just. She's a success story that works to obscure systemic injustice.

PT Sir's story feels a little different than Jivan's and Lovely's, perhaps because he's a man or perhaps because he's more acutely aware of how to work the system for his advantage. PT Sir works his way from teacher to powerful politician the same way most politician do--through favors to those in power. He's actively aware of the wrongs he's doing, but he's too intoxicated by power to change his behavior. Like Jivan and Lovely, he's a player in a system that he can do little to change, though his choices feel far more selfish.

Majumdar easily captures the characters' voices, particularly Lovely's sing-songy, present-continuous, gerund-y style (okay, it's hard to describe!). The tension builds easily as the characters' stories intersect. A Burning isn't an exceptionally long book--just over three hundred pages--but it still clocks in as one of the fastest I've read in awhile.