Literary Fiction by People of Color discussion

Here is where you can discuss the entirety of A BURNING. No spoiler tag necessary.

Oh bless you!

I'm trying to figure out whose journey was more central to the story. I think that Jivan was nominally the protagonist, but PT Sir went from low level civil servant to despicable and immoral politician/party functionary. Lovely from the bottom rung of society to famous movie star or Jivan from innocent social media user to (wrongly accused) national public enemy #1. I think PT Sir's gradual corruption sticks with me because his desire to advance is universal. What is the price we would pay to for a raise in income and prestige. When would our conscience say that is a bridge too far?

I agree William, those are the themes that stuck out to me as well. I felt like the author wanted as to juxtapose Jivan’s unjust downfall with PT Sir’s and Lovely’s meteoric rises. More importantly, I believe she wanted to be troubled by the fact that their success was in many ways the byproduct of Jivan’s suffering. How often do we see people capitalize on another’s pain, lack of knowledge, misfortune? I think that’s a trend the author is attempting to draw our attention to in concrete terms.

Rashad wrote: "I agree William, those are the themes that stuck out to me as well. I felt like the author wanted as to juxtapose Jivan’s unjust downfall with PT Sir’s and Lovely’s meteoric rises. More importantly..."

Agreed. Almost all the characters took advantage of Jivans misfortune. Even the minor ones, the reporter, the party head, the bollywood star and others.

The library finally informed me my hold is ready for pick up!

Just finished. Holy Moly!!!
So glad I’m reading this with you guys. I would burst if reading alone.

Rashad wrote: "I agree William, those are the themes that stuck out to me as well. I felt like the author wanted as to juxtapose Jivan’s unjust downfall with PT Sir’s and Lovely’s meteoric rises. More importantly..."

Rashad, I agree with your observation of one person’s rise connected to another person’s fall.

Dang, I was rooting for PT Sir’s conscious and care for his students to win out! He did feed her and I believe he cared for her at one point. I wonder if that white covering hadn’t been present would he still have been able to so easily betray her. Probably, I guess he was pretty puffed up by then. I ,too ,believe he was the most central character in this story.
I am also intrigued by his wife. She was a very minor character, but we watched her transform from someone who did not want her husband involved with the party to quiet acceptance and even praising his promotions.
Lovely....sigh! I was hoping conscience would win over here too. However, the descriptions of the extreme poverty in which she lived made me doubt her. Her statement that “only she or Jivan could survive, but not both”, sealed it.
This is is really a story of just how far will one person go at another’s expense. So many feelings here!

At 96% in the kindle edition, there is a passage where jivan is having a mental conversation with her mom. It shakes me to my core.

“I could have been an ordinary person in the world. Ma, I could have gone to college, the city college where girls my age sit under trees, studying from their books, arguing, joking with boys. This is what I have seen in the movies. Then I too would have given scraps of my meal to the stray dogs. I too would have had nostalgic corners of campus, corridor romances. I might have studied literature, and I might have spoken English so well that if you had met me on the street, Ma, you would not have known me! Ma, you would have thought I was a rich girl.”

Trudy wrote: "At 96% in the kindle edition, there is a passage where jivan is having a mental conversation with her mom. It shakes me to my core.

“I could have been an ordinary person in the world. Ma, I could..."

thx 4 sharing. What moved you to the core? Or hit you emotionally?

I hope to get there, I am only 70+% in.

Since I am a little ahead of reading schedule: I will share in both places when it is available (i.e. 1/23/21).

As we see in the read, Jivan, is viewed as a poor Muslim woman who appears not to have a voice even in this age (21st century) and wrongly charged/arrested for a post on social media. No voice. No justice. No money.

This reminds me to a quote in Just Mercy's book on page 18:
"...the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice." He further adds, "...the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our society, our commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and equality cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned."

We can not only see this for Jivan in India, south Asian country, but also how the hijra was treated, disfavored, and such. These choices we make, affects not only us, but others as a whole such as the poor, unprivileged.

Ok, wow, that certainly didn’t end the way I expected it to. The author certainly surprised with this one. I had the impression that the author was leading us to Jivans release. That of course would have depended on certain people doing the right thing. So, if the courtroom arrangements were set up differently might PT Sir have given a different testimony?

Trudy wrote: "At 96% in the kindle edition, there is a passage where jivan is having a mental conversation with her mom. It shakes me to my core.

“I could have been an ordinary person in the world. Ma, I could..."

Good points...
I wondered why we didn’t learn more about why PT Sir’s wife sudden 180 degree change from not wanting her husband involved to encouragement. Her role was minor but I think it was important enough for the author yo have addressed that more in the book. Just my opinion..

I read this book several months ago, so although I'm following the thread, I don't remember enough details to contribute to the discussion. But I will never forget how powerfully the book ended, and shook me out of a general sense that all will end well. I think I developed that sense because I was so won over by the charm of the characters - even PT Sir seemed more laughable than harmful and the higher level politicans were too remote to be immediately threatening. And it seemed like the author loved her characters too, so that was added protection. Suddenly all that was pulled out from under me, and the final shock was Lovely betraying Jivan. I think the author did a great job of showing how she rationalized the betrayal in a way that didn't make her a villian, but an averagely flawed human being, leaving us to wonder what we'd have done. I loved the book as I was reading it, but the ending brought it to a whole new level for me.

ColumbusReads wrote: "Ok, wow, that certainly didn’t end the way I expected it to. The author certainly surprised with this one. I had the impression that the author was leading us to Jivans release. That of course woul..."

I kind of expected Jivan to be killed. As each of her lifelines kept betraying her, her situation became inexorably more bleak. And the State was determined to make an example of her. But just as the Innocence Project has proven hundreds of death row prisoners wrongly convicted here in the U.S., and the State of Texas put a mentally handicapped man who was proven innocent to death anyway, we have to ask ourselves, how many innocent lives put to death by the State (State = us) is too many?
People tend to think in terms of tragedies happening to them and over there, when they actually happen more often in their own backyard.

William wrote: "ColumbusReads wrote: "Ok, wow, that certainly didn’t end the way I expected it to. The author certainly surprised with this one. I had the impression that the author was leading us to Jivans releas..."

I really didn’t see it coming William and I wish I had at least anticipated there could possibly be a different outcome. I was flummoxed and my jaw dropped when it actually happened. I must say, I give the author credit for not showing deference to those expecting a different result/sentence - -myself included.

I guess it’s why I disagree with the death penalty in many ways and the Federal Death Penalty in particular. How many innocent people are wrongly accused and thus sentenced to death. Not to get too deep into politics but the Central Park Five may have been on that list if a certain president had his way.

A thing I have noticed is that culturally, I think Americans are accustomed to happy endings. The guy gets the girl, the villains get whatever justice is coming to them, all the wrongs are righted. Most of the books I've read by authors who grew up in the US follow this thread. Not so much with the books I've read from authors who grew up abroad. This book was another example of that. It felt like a more honest ending though. More authentic and real life. These things happen. People step on others to make their own situation better. There was nothing written, no character that could have helped, in order for Jivan to get a happy ending. I feel the story wasn't about a single character, but about all 3 of them and how their individual stories converge even if they had no idea the impact they would make on each other.

I can't say the ending shocked or surprised me because it is the one that made the most sense. I do remember thinking, "Well that really sucked..."

Wanda wrote: "A thing I have noticed is that culturally, I think Americans are accustomed to happy endings. The guy gets the girl, the villains get whatever justice is coming to them, all the wrongs are righted...."

Yes, it did really suck....You gave the book a 2 star rating so ultimately it looks like it didn’t work for you. What were some of your issues with it?

Nadine wrote: "I read this book several months ago, so although I'm following the thread, I don't remember enough details to contribute to the discussion. But I will never forget how powerfully the book ended, an..."

Don't most villains' justify or make excuses for their wrongdoing, and seem to be the victim themselves too.

ColumbusReads wrote: "I guess it’s why I disagree with the death penalty in many ways and the Federal Death Penalty in particular. How many innocent people are wrongly accused and thus sentenced to death. Not to get too..."

Absolutely, like the book by The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row

Wanda wrote: "A thing I have noticed is that culturally, I think Americans are accustomed to happy endings. The guy gets the girl, the villains get whatever justice is coming to them, all the wrongs are righted...."
Good point, Wanda, about happy endings. I was kind of waiting for this whole thing to wrap up with a tattered bow, but... Like others mentioned, the end was shocking, but so very real.

In the Interlude the Villagers visit the Beef-eater, PT Sir, “a successful person is a magnet for resentment.” Furthermore, it states deflecting the light of success away from him (PT SIR) is a better practice. Bimala Pal doesn’t want him to be humble in politics.

Not to acknowledge how the win happen, getting to his peers, colleagues, or teachers. It saddens me that people are willing to accept and or do anything to gain power, success or what is deemed as wealth. To dismiss the beef eater demise to see a win.

Now has to do something to his own student whom he admired in the beginning, imaging helping her with basketball (sports) and learning, now to be her demise. (p 522-525 in eBook).


Mercy petition is what they call in in this book. Her lawyer easily gives in to PT Sir. I wonder if he was paid under the table to get this process to speed up, petition rejected, and no one seems to care that we are playing with an innocent life here. I see this country is no different than ours, US.

Circumstantial evidence? Moreover, the author allows the reader to understand that the govt wanted to pin someone. Ugh. Future English teacher’s life destroyed. I cannot recall her age? Teen?

ColumbusReads wrote: "Wanda wrote: "A thing I have noticed is that culturally, I think Americans are accustomed to happy endings. The guy gets the girl, the villains get whatever justice is coming to them, all the wrong..."

I didn't connect with it as much as I would have wanted. I wanted to root for Jivan, and I wanted to root for Lovely, but ultimately, they were only characters in a book for me. They didn't really pop out as more than that. Now, the only time I felt emotion during this book was when I was angry the reporter used Jivan the way he did.

Another factor for my 2 star review is because I didn't understand much of the cultural references or the specific political atmosphere, I felt like I was missing something or things were going over my head that would have enhanced the reading.

Since both the U.S. and India are former British colonies their legal systems are offshoots of the English foundations but with significant differences. I was intrigued by the curtain in the Indian courtroom. Placed there supposedly to prevent those testifying from being intimidated by the accused. Instead it seemed to be used as a cover for unfounded anonymous allegations. I think it also provided PT Sir with the perfect cover for his action. Most of his victims never even knew that he was the one condemning them to prison or worse. I'm really glad that the U.S. did not go that route.

William wrote: "Since both the U.S. and India are former British colonies their legal systems are offshoots of the English foundations but with significant differences. I was intrigued by the curtain in the Indian..."

Good point. Witnesses unable to testify on her behalf or in general.

Wow that book messed me up.
I knew it was going to be bad as the book progressed because of PT Sir’s rapid descent on morality in favor of financial gain and political status. PT Sir already struck me as a self centered, self righteous person. We saw this play out in court as he sells out other “low class” people, including Lovely’s Azad. He does this because the party tells him it’s the right thing to do, and he blindly trusts the party. It reminds me of the Nazis “just following orders”. A quick note though, I believe the white sheet is only used for high profile cases. When PT Sir testifies in several cases before Jivan’s, the defendants question who he is as they haven’t seen him before.

Like William said, I expected Jivan to be killed. I wasn’t expecting a hanging, however.

As Trudy said, this is a story about how far people will go to sell out another person to advance their own agenda. Unfortunately, the person that ends up getting stepped on is Jivan, the person on the lowest rung of society’s ladder. It’s convenient because she cannot fight it. She’s already guilty by the virtue of her placement in the hierarchy. We saw this play out again in the village in another really graphic, disturbing scene. I knew that Muslims were somewhat ostracized in India; I had no idea the Islamic community are treated as pariahs. It was very difficult for me to read through the rape, murder, and desecration of the family by the village mob. From my perspective this is where the book really took on the notion of “a burning.”

I was most disappointed by Lovely. As someone who could relate to Jivan’s struggle, and as the book’s moral compass, I expected more from her. But as Trudy summarized with the quote, “only she or Jivan could survive, not both.” There is only room for only token, poverty-stricken person to thrive, and Lovely has become that.

Adrienna wrote: "Trudy wrote: "At 96% in the kindle edition, there is a passage where jivan is having a mental conversation with her mom. It shakes me to my core.

“I could have been an ordinary person in the worl..."

Adrienne, I think it was the steep contrast to where she was and where she could have been.

So I just finished the book and the ending wrecked me. I posted in the other thread that this wasn't a book that I found myself excited to pick up and read and that continued to be the case up until the interlude, "The Villagers Visit the Beef-Eater". This interlude was really the first point where I felt any emotions reading the book and it only continued to hit me in the feelings as I kept going.

I think that if the book had ended any differently, it would not have been so impactful. From the beginning, I felt that PT Sir was a very weak character and the party served to make him feel useful and important because nothing else in his life did. Even when he speaks of his experiences with Jivan, when she was his student, it didn't seem like he actually cared for her. It seemed more to me that he was enjoying feeling important, acting as a savior. What a sickening character...

One thing that I think could have been interesting would be to have a short chapter for PT Sir and Lovely after Jivan's execution. I'm curious to know how they would have felt after finding out. Ultimately Jivan was a victim of her social class, but Lovely and PT Sir did play their parts in her death (PT Sir mostly). It also seemed to me like Lovely felt remorse for her decision but recognized that in order to succeed, she had to choose between herself or Jivan. PT Sir showed absolutely no remorse (probably because Bimala Pal convinced him that as long as he didn't physically harm anyone, he should feel no fault in their death after the massacre).

Milanna wrote: "So I just finished the book and the ending wrecked me. I posted in the other thread that this wasn't a book that I found myself excited to pick up and read and that continued to be the case up unti..."

Wow, What a great idea to have included a chapter on PT Sir and Lovely’s thoughts after Jivan’s death! I would love for them to express some remorse. However, as my husband always reminds me, “don’t put your sensibilities on other people.” In that vein, I guess those two could have gone on with their lives with barely a second thought.

Trudy wrote: "Milanna wrote: "So I just finished the book and the ending wrecked me. I posted in the other thread that this wasn't a book that I found myself excited to pick up and read and that continued to be ..."

Love the quote, but yes, we cannot imagine what others are thinking or feeling, and because we feel a certain way about things, doesn't apply to others/them. It seemed like they didn't have remorse or care, especially PT Sir after the massacre in the Village of Beef Eaters, Bimala reassured him that he was not at fault in so many words.

Trudy wrote: "Milanna wrote: "So I just finished the book and the ending wrecked me. I posted in the other thread that this wasn't a book that I found myself excited to pick up and read and that continued to be ..."

I like that quote too and it’s so very true.

Trudy wrote: "Milanna wrote: "So I just finished the book and the ending wrecked me. I posted in the other thread that this wasn't a book that I found myself excited to pick up and read and that continued to be ..."

I totally agree, Trudy. I guess a part of me just wanted to believe that once Lovely and PT Sir found out about Jivan's death and realized their involvement in it, they would take a step back and realize that maybe they either don't like what they've become or they realize that it had to be done in order to continue to advance in their careers. Either way, I think that it would have just helped me in my mind make a final decision on how I truly feel about Lovely (I already know pretty strongly how I feel about PT Sir, haha). I also recognize that that's not the point of the end of the story, it was never meant to have a happy or even an optimistic ending. I do think it could have been tied up just a bit better though.