Wow what a debut! a brilliant and heart breaking novel set in contemporary India with three disparate characters trying to improve their lives with varying success. The author manages to weave hugely important issues such as politics, class, religion and justice into a page turning story .
Thank you to netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an advance copy of this book

This is a tense and emotional read about Jivan, a Muslim girl from the slums who just wants to make a better life for herself when she is wrongly accused of a terrorist attack, becoming the central point of a swirl of anger and injustice. It follows her life in prison as the truth of what happened is replaced by people who have something to gain from rewriting her story. The novel is told from three main perspectives, Jivan, a schoolteacher who feels slighted by her lack of gratitude, and Lovely, a trans woman who desperately wants to become a famous actress. I liked that it was told this way, with the addition of interludes from other people surrounding the main characters, as the reasons people find to justify what they do to get what they want is a central part of this novel. Lovely’s voice in particular is really strong and her arc was the most interesting to me. The plot is propulsive and the structure makes it very easy to read, although I would have appreciated more time spent with each character and on each plot point so I could properly reflect on what was happening and get to know the characters better. The writing wasn’t particularly impressive until the second half, when there are some incredibly striking images and beautifully-worded moments that made me stop and read them again. Not a new favourite but definitely worth the read for the interesting story and fresh perspective on political advancement, fame and scapegoating.

After finishing this book, I kept thinking about the title and how clever it is in retrospect. It encapsulates so much of what this book is about. The characters display burning ambition, there is a literal burning of bodies on a train following a terrorist attack and there is a metaphoric burning that society demands as penance for the horrific act of violence that has taken place in their community

In A Burning we read from the perspectives of three main characters. Lovely - a trans woman who aspires to be a famous actress, PT Sir - a PE teacher who finds himself consumed by a political movement and Jivan - a shop worker who is accused of colluding with terrorists and contributing to an attack on a train which sees dozens killed. My favourite perspective to read from was definitely Lovely's. She is unapologetically herself and while some may find her voice jarring as she speaks in a broken form of English, I thought it conveyed an innocence and naivety which was endearing. Javin's story was hard to read but sends an important message of how powerless poor people, especially poor women, can be in a system not designed to benefit them. PT Sir, although on the surface a rather odious character, holds understandable notions when taken in context. He is a teacher who is not particularly well paid or respected and I could see how putting aside his morals in order to gain status would appear to be a fair exchange.
Through these three different, loosely connected characters we see how one event can have a life-altering impact on those who are seemingly on the side lines. A theme that came through strongly as well throughout the novel was the gap between the story we tell of our own lives and the story that others would tell about us.
This was a quick read but no less impactful for being so. The characters and their voices are distinct and I could have easily read a full novel from any one of their perspectives.

Wow, this was a roller-coaster of emotions. I found myself frightened, scared and constantly guessing throughout this book! I was desperate to get to the end! Beautifully written. Would recommend.

This triad narrative follows the aftermath of a terrorist attack near a train station in the Kolkata slum. Jivan, a young Muslim woman, comments ‘If the police didn’t help ordinary people like you and me, if the police watched them die, doesn’t that mean that the government is also a terrorist?’ on a Facebook video of the event. As a result, she finds herself in a cell and on trial. A trial which if she loses; she'll die. Her pleads of innocence are questioned as those in her community accuse her of speaking ill of her country, seeing her with terrorist supplies, and ultimately demanding justice.

Jivan's story is interwoven with that of her former PE teacher—PT Sir, who forgoes his morals for the affection of a right-wing political party - and Lovely—the inspiring trans actress she used to tutor. Lovely holds the alibi that can set Jivan free, but telling the truth will cost her everything she holds dear including a shot at a blockbuster movie.

The technique of patching together of alternating perspectives provides presence and weight to the events. Jivan's trial is the ultimate catalyst for the unfolding of the events which all ultimately tether together in some way to form an all-engulfing fire that sets the three characters' worlds ablaze.

This is an incredibly thought-provoking and poignant look at the themes of ambition, truth, gender, religion and class. It's electrifying and challenging from the offset with a taut sense of injustice and corruption throughout.

An overarching theme of fear and ambition to rise above oneself are the driving forces behind each of the characters' motives and action. There is a heavy theme of political ambition in PT Sir's arc which I was unsuspecting of, but it provided a fascinating look at the consequences of harrowing circumstances, a taste of power and lying for personal gain. Whilst Lovely's story shows the struggle of ambition in Contemporary India, within a landscape she doesn't fit in with people who don't understand. Both Lovely and PT Sir question their own morals, values and human compassion during their opportunities to advance their own livelihoods and career. It's a spectacular take on how marginalized groups will often be forced to take any opportunity to succeed.

High strung with tension this is an electrifying read and a transfixing look at fate and injustice. It's a potent statement that whilst words have the power to provide opportunity and invoke hope, they can also hold the equilibrium between life and death.

A burning tells the story of personal benefit versus doing what we know is right. The story is told from three separate points of view: Jivan, a teenage girl who lives in a Kolkata slum; Lovely, a hijra whose dream is to become an actress; and PT Sir, Jivan’s gym teacher who joins a rising Hindu party movement. By a cruel twist Jivans fate becomes juxtaposed with that of Lovely and PT Sir. This story is heart wrenching, each person is deeply flawed yet their point of view can be understand. Highly recommended.

The blurb made me think this is exactly my kind of book, and the proof was in the reading.

The plotting is pacy and clever, and the use of three different character voices is both appropriate for the narrative and sneakily compelling - it's hard to stop reading, even if you have planned to ("just one more section ... ").

I particularly loved the characterisation of the three voices. The linguistic distinctiveness of each is delightful. Of course my favourite character is Lovely, an irrepressibly optimistic Hijra trying to make it in the movie business. PT Sir is a fascinating character study - less likeable, but painfully sympathetic. In many ways Jivan, who performs the inciting incident (the Facebook comment), is the least interesting character, perhaps because after this gesture she is mainly acted-upon rather than acting.

4.5/5 stars

Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK, Scribner UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

Megha Majumdar's debut, A Burning, is set in modern Kolkata, and alternates between the perspectives of three characters: Jivan, a young Muslim woman falsely accused of being involved in a terrorist attack; Lovely, a hijra who longs to be an actress and who has been learning English from Jivan; and PT Sir, Jivan's former teacher, who is now becoming dangerously involved with a nationalist political party who want to use Jivan as a scapegoat. All three characters use, and are used, by social media. Jivan was originally ensnared by the police after posting an angry Facebook status criticising the government, PT Sir uses YouTube to spread the word about the party he works for, while Lovely is delighted when a video of her goes viral.

A Burning is emotionally moving, but I found it disappointingly thin. All three of the protagonists are relatively one-dimensional, with Jivan defined by her wronged innocence, Lovely by her sassy narration, and PT Sir as the typical social climber seduced by the opportunity of power. The quick switches between them make the novel a swift read but also reinforce the impression that it's only skating over the surface of these political injustices. Majumdar also breaks away from her three central narrators when she needs to - for example, there are brief snatches from the point of view of Jivan's parents - which means that the novel ends up spelling out things that it doesn't really need to, slipping into a mode of storytelling that is more common in YA than in adult fiction. Ultimately, I wished that Majumdar had had the confidence to leave more unsaid.

“A Burning” by Megha Majumdar
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My first Book Review of 2021 and what a stunning debut to kick start the new year.
⭐️
I absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. And not at all too premature of me to rank this in my ‘Top READS of 2021’ box. No sireee
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A young woman Muslim woman in Kolkata - Jivan is accused of a terrorist attack at a railway station near the slum where she lives.
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An innocent post on Facebook the same night “If the police didn’t help ordinary people like you and me, if the police watched them die, doesn’t that mean the government is also a terrorist?” Changes her life forever.
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Witnesses claim they saw her the night of the attack. Worst still are rumours that the person she has been chatting to on Facebook is a well known terrorist recruiter. Jivan is arrested and sent to jail to await her fait.
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Her only hope of freedom lies in the hands of P.E (Sports Teacher) PT Sir and Lovely - a budding actor who is mocked locally for being a misfit simply because she is a young Hijra (a class of intersex and transgender people in India). Up until being arrested, Jivan had been giving English lessons to Lovely.
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Can they vouch for Jivan? Can they save her from execution.
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You’ll have to read this book to find out….
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‘The Burning’ is a book that boils up so many issues.
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Poverty.
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Social aspiration.
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And lastly and perhaps the biggest thorn in all of this - Morals. Both PT Sir and Lovely are on the way up in both their chosen paths - politics for PT Sir and the big lights fame through acting for Lovely. Will they risk all to help Jivan?
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My favourite character was by far Lovely - simply because she is just so damn funny. And also shes a misfit. I’m a huge fan of the underdog. Always.
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And that is as much as I’m going to say on this book.
⭐️
What a book. What a debut.
⭐️
Buy this book and let me know what you think.

Wow. Just Wow. I dont even know where to start. First thanks to Simon & Schuster for the ARC - I finished it in one sitting!

This story is so real and so sad and so relentless. Jivan is a young girl who makes a stupid comment on facebook (havent we all?) and is then accused of aiding a terrorist plot and taken to jail. The story takes us through her imprisonment, court case and the aftermath. It also introduces us to a wealth of characters that she interacted with. PT Sir was a former teacher of hers who fuelled with petty resentments and political ambition, leverages Jivan's plight to push his nationlist agenda. Lovely is a Hijra - in this case seen a s a transgender woman (who is also revered as having a close connection to divinity). She is an aspiring actress who was being tutuored by Jivan on how to speak English. She is initially a staunch defender of Jivan but lverages the publicity of the case to push her acting career.

Another main character in this book is the might of the state. There are several interludes and sub plots where we see how poor people are marginalised - like the case of 2 men being charged to enter a new mall (a tactic designed to keep poor people our), or how a moslem family is killed in a village because a cow goes missing, and ofcourse how Jivan is treated. I've read articles about the rise of nationalism in India and how thats creating religious tensions and how women are raped or molested - which are themes you see reflected in this book.

The author does a very deft job of tackling the issues and the characters who all have issues and are morally ambiguous. Even Jivan who is innocent of her charges isnt completely pure - what she is, is young and you cant help but think her actions would have very different consequences in oher countries. I always enjoy reading books with morally grey characters but in this case you also have a view of the unfairness of the world which is what makes it very real for me as there's nothing that can be done about it and not everyone gets their comeuppance. Jivan remains ever hopeful whilst the people who you would think will support her are corrupted or bought in different ways.

I would love to read an Indian person's take on this and how realistic the portrayal is. I really enjoyed this - the end finished me but I loved it. Excellent book and highly recommended from me.

A Burning is a powerful, ambitious novel by a wonderfully talented writer. The novel is centred around the perspectives of three characters in modern India, each tied together through ambition, government corruption and political gain. It is a quick read but not necessarily an easy read, and the destructive power of social media is present from start to finish, A Burning is a tragic, compelling novel that managed to move me in fewer than 300 pages.

Jivan, PT Sir and Lovely's lives intersect in this lively and thought-provoking novel of politics and modern life. For Jivan, we question what happens when a Facebook post can lead to incarceration? For PT Sir, we ask what happens when people trick themselves into believing that corruption is fine. For Lovely we ask what would we all do when given the chance to succeed against the odds, and to rise despite our lifetime of being barred from the life we want?

The personal is the political and the political is pretty grim. I'm not sure enjoy is the right term for this novel, but I did race through it. All three narrators are well-written and offer a lot of scope for readers to think about the issues at hand. Not all of these characters can win. Their rise and fall is connected. This could have been slightly more nuanced but ultimately, I found this a useful way to link the stories and bring us to the conclusion.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jivan is wrongly imprisoned when she is accused of assisting a terrorism plot. Her fight for justice touches many people's lives including Lovely, a student of Jivan, and PT Sir her old teacher. We follow all their journeys as a corrupt political agenda threatens them all.

I really enjoyed the political storyline throughout this and loved how we got to see the both sides. Those who heavily support it and those against. I also liked how this highlighted just how easy it is to be swept up in the moment until you're in over your head.

This has great representation and I liked how it tackled issues such as prejudice, class and corruption.

I wish the story was slightly more linear as it did become a bit confusing to follow in certain areas as we jumped from perspective to perspective.

This is a great debut and I would definitely be interested in reading more from Majumdar in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK for providing me with a copy to review.

This is a difficult book to read because of the subject matter, but the writing is cleverly done. Each character has a distinct voice, and even though each chapter is prefaced with the name of the POV character, it almost doesn't feel necessary. I'd recognize Lovely's use of language easily, and the way the sentences were structured reminded me of the time I spent living in the Arab Gulf states. There are a lot of immigrant workers there, most of them from India, and I could almost hear Lovely speaking to me in that same rhythmic way.

The story isn't really about one thing in particular but feels more like a snapshot of the difficulties faced by normal people in India. It rings true to me even though I've never been there, because I recognize the same issues from having lived in a different developing country, where freedom of speech is lip service and an ill-conceived social media post can absolutely land you in prison. I'm sure more people will feel the truth in this, and it makes the book powerful in a way I wouldn't have expected, considering it's less than 300 pages.

The choice of words feels very purposeful sometimes. I think PT Sir is an excellent example of this. His POV is the only one written in third person, and he's the only character without a name. I found myself wondering if this was because he represents the average person, someone not important enough to be known by name in the grand scheme of things, even though all he wants is to matter. Definitely a lot of food for thought.

I do think the middle part dragged a bit compared to the beginning and end, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Definitely worth reading.

A Burning is an absolutely outstanding debut with three distinct narratives, it is hard to believe that something written this beautifully is a debut.

Set in modern day India, the book follows Jivan, Lovely and PT Sir with alternating chapters for each character's story. The three characters are so instantly recognisable and authentic. Like many, Lovely was my favourite character and I found myself truly rooting for her the whole way through. Majumdar manages to weave so many topics and issues in to a relatively short novel and nothing felt rushed or unrealistic.

I would highly recommend this to anyone and I would add that the audiobook truly added to the richness of the experience (I would rate the audiobook 5 stars).

Note: there are some trigger warnings for A Burning that should be noted.

Although I just finished this one, I can feel that the effects of it will linger with me for a while.

We follow the ordinary lives of Jivan, Lovely and PT Sir. Lives that all swerve on their paths and make unexpected turns.

This isn't just another tale about some people in India, but rather a tale that zooms in on the lives of people who nobody talks about. The ordinary people. The yous and the mes! People who are affected by the politics and everyday decisions of those above them.

It covers everything from poverty, politics, ethics, family, progress, or the lack of it, corruption...

While the book talks quite a lot about politics, I don't think the politics overshadow the overall message of it, one that aims to demonstrate the hardships of life in India and how close politics and life are intertwined. What politics can do to a seemingly ordinary person.

In this society, classes do exist. There are people who barely have the means to live, who don't get the luxury of even going to school or having water in their houses. There's no justice and injustice here. There are circumstances and connections that either go to your advantage or disadvantage.

This isn't a game or a lie, this is reality. These are three characters that come from different backgrounds but represent just some of the people who are affected by life like this. Some will sell their morals for a better fridge, some will forget about their close ones for a better role in a movie, and some will pay with their life for someone else's crime. Point being, everyone has to take care of themselves, because nobody else will help them. And if you want to stand a chance of a normal life, you are bound to step over someone, close your eyes and pretend like you didn't. You are forced into this whether you want it or not. You have no choice even though you are told that you do have one.

The author doesn't shy away from painting this picture for us. It might even sound bizarre or exaggerated to some, but it's real. This isn't an easy story to read. It just isn't. The end really felt like a punch in my gut.

Writing style: There's a lot of usage of Present Continuous which initially confused me. I went back and forth between being confused and detached and just plain liking and understanding the writing. But by the time the book finished I completely and wholly understand the purpose of it. The writing style provides a unique tone and voice to all of the characters and shapes this into the unique story that it is.

In terms of characters, nothing was missing. They were all introduced with enough details from the past and present so that we understood who they were, and who they are now and where they could possibly go in the future.

I think this is a necessary read, and a unique book with a unique perspective that I haven't been faced with before. I suggest you look into it to get a better glimpse of what life looks like for ordinary people in India, and the kind of things that happen there, which we think in our little comfortable bubbles are just tales are fiction. A Burning may be fiction, but that doesn't deny the reality of what it talks about.

I honestly can’t believe that this book is a debut. It’s written with such beauty, honesty and heart, that you would think Majumdar had been writing for decades. An ambitious debut novel, with a wonderful plot by a writer with a lot to offer.

The story of 3 lives intersecting. Majumdar takes major risks with a multi-perspective, voice driven novel whose politics often occur in the background, but her excellent plotting abilities kept me turning the page. This novel gets you thinking. It makes you consider the power your words have. Words can be twisted, they can form a lie, they can tell the truth, they can provide freedom, or cause death.

“Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham = Somtimes Happiness Sometimes Sorrow.”

“A Burning” is a cautionary tale for those who claim politics has no place in their lives. Majumdar ties the private terrors of ‘inconsequential’ people to the larger forces pulsing through India. She lays bare many issues, and keeps you reading when you most want to turn away.

This book is short and concise, but reads like an epic.

My first book to review this year and what a way to start.
I was immediately drawn into the world of Jivan and how now by the press of finger on Facebook the corruption and false statements that circle not only social media but the politics and power of India seek to destroy her hopes. Also how her friend Lovely is dreaming beyond the hostility of her parents and those who refer to us one of 'uglies' because of her hopes to be an actress and that the position of hijrah will move to one of exalted praise in the big bucks of Bollywood. Then finally, although the most corrupt the character of PT Sir, the lame insignificant teacher who becomes drawn politics and whose sense of the 'real patriotism' also encircles him in false hopes but a better lifestyle.
This is a wonderful collision of three strong characters and associated people included in their lives. I particularly liked Amercandi in the women's jail and Jivan's parents. The author weaves the tastes and smells of Indian food within the depths of poverty and despair to the elite higher echelons of government. In its own way food goes beyond strengthening and sustaining the mind but showing how its rituals can endure despite the worst conditions of humanity. Also the festivals the lights and the religion - intoxicating and then threatening.
I would probably not have been drawn to this novel and expected none of the perceptive and emotional roller coaster on which I travelled to the last tearful pages. Contemporary India with its past and its present horrors and beauties of all types be it in human form or on the side food stalls bring the whole novel to life in a stunning fashion.
Wonderful read. First of 2021 and already a 5 * winner.

A Burning - Megha Majumbar

This debut novel follows 3 main characters whose lives revolve around one lie in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Our main characters are a teacher with a taste for politics, a young woman accused of a crime and an actress looking to pursue their career. I really enjoyed the narration during this book as we flick back and forth between the three characters and I feel this really helped the flow of the book. I felt a lot of emotions during this book and found it harrowing at times. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author. Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for allowing me the opportunity to enjoy and review this book

If the police didn’t help ordinary people like you and me, if the police watched them die, doesn’t that mean that the government us also a terrorist.

This impressive debut novel is set in Bengal – and opens in the voice of Jivan. Jivan is a young Muslim woman living in a Kolkota slum with her invalid Father (whose injuries started with a police beating after a forced eviction from a village above a mine) and her Mother. Jivan, who via an NGO, won a scholarship to an important school and there was taken under his wing by the PT Teacher (PT Sir) who recognises her poverty. But later she dropped out and took a job at a local department store where she has aspirations, first to provide for her parents (and to prevent her mother risking hear health and safety selling roadside breakfasts), and later to become middle class.

Jivan has just witnessed a terrorist atrocity – a firebombing of a train at a local train station which kills more than one hundred. She had gone to the station with a pile of her old books which she was going to give to a hirja – Lucky - that she is teaching English – but flees in terror after the attack. Later scrolling through Facebook – intrigued by the hashtags and video clips posted to Facebook and dismayed that her attempts to engage in the comments are not gathering Likes, she posts the inflammatory quote that opens my review.

From there things unravel rapidly for her – a few days later the police raid her home and arrest her and she becomes the prime suspect for the attack. Everything fits from the viewpoint of the authorities in two respects. Firstly the weight of circumstantial evidence in addition to her inflammatory post: she was seen at and then fleeing from the attack; she was carrying and then later without a suspicious package; kerosene soaked clothing is found at her house (either from her mother’s cleaning or simply planted); one of her Facebook overseas contacts is a known terrorist recruiter. Secondly convenience – failed CCTV cameras means there is no sighting of the main bombers, so the arrest of an anti-government Muslim girl from a poor background (and so with no supporters of influence) who can have been said to have guided the bombers through the slums, makes a handy response to the clamour for action and justice for the victims, which is heightened by an upcoming State Election being played out against a background of increasing right-wing Hindu nationalism.

Jirvan’s tale is told in the first person. She remains quietly convinced that her innocence will eventually lead to her release in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary and in the face of the inactivity of her state legal representative aims to mount her own defence – using various means of influence to arrange for a journalist to visit her in prison. Many of her chapters are formative parts of her life story as told to him. Jirvan’s bewilderment at her fate (but quiet and determined dignity to overcome it) is captured in her understated description of the increasing indignities she faces (her forced confession for example is only referred to by her after it is presented in court).

Jivan’s tale is interlinked with those of two others (lucky and PT Sir) – who, in contrast to her rapid unravelling, have a sudden uprise in fate. Both of the tales are also told in short first sections, interleaved with Jivan’s reflecting the way in which their rise is bound up with and sustained by the fall of Jivan.

PT Sir is the only male teacher at his school and of low profile and prestige compared to his academic colleagues – other than leading the annual patriotic parade or when he fixes the stage microphone in assembly. Patriotic but of rather modest and insecure ambition – he finds himself somehow electrified by his second-hand link to the atrocity, and is reminded of his bewilderment and resentment when his prize student dropped out of school without an explanation. And this electrification finds an outlet when he stumbles across a rally for the (fictional) populist Jana Kalyan (Well-Being for All) Party where he sees both a famous Bollywood actress and the party’s second-in-command – Bimala Pal – speak and is inspired – while remaining very much in the background - by an activist who climbs a car and waves a dagger. On his second rally his automatic intervention to fix a broken microphone propels him to the forefront and his link to the terrorist (particularly having spoken to the police about his doubts about her character) brings him to the forefront and to the attention of Bimala Pal.

From there PT Sir finds himself drawn ever closer to the Party – first as a paid false witness in court cases and then as a speaker visiting countryside schools to rally party support and to research likely vote winning education policies. His sometimes qualms out what he is required to do, his insecurities about himself and his wife’s aversion to the risks of the murky world of politicians all are gradually subsumed by the status, respect and material rewards that accrue to them via his involvement. He is only too aware, and made aware by others, that his advancement is tied up with his testimony against Jivan.

PT’s sections are rendered in a direct third party voice which neatly fits the way in which he observes himself in the eyes of others.

Lucky – between work giving out blessings in exchange for fees – aspires to an acting career and attends a local acting class. Lucky’s desperation for stardom is predictably exploited by agents and by a audition video maker – but when she testifies in court on Jivan’s behalf her testimony goes viral and suddenly doors begin to open: she is however increasingly aware that while her support for Jivan turbo-charged her career it could also act as a break on her ascent.

Lucky’s sections – reflecting both her character and shaky English - are told in a gushing first party section rendered in a present continuous tense and with unusual and vibrant metaphors and phrasing.

Occasional interludes give the brief stories of some of those with who the three characters interact -presenting a wider picture of the right wing nationalism and above all corruption which bedevil the state.

This book has been very popular in the US (where it was published some time ago) for I think three key reasons: firstly a rave review by James Wood in the New Yorker; second the resonances with events in the US (a world of authority indifference, police brutality and Facebook posts causing repercussions is not one that people view any more as being about another world). But the third is that this is simply a very well crafted book – showing remarkable control for a debut novel.

This book is very different from many other well-known NRI novels – there is for example no Rushdie/Roy like Magic Realism. The hirja connection bought to mind Roy’s “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” as the concentration on injustice and anti-Muslim prejudice (albeit in two other states) – but only really as a form of contrast. Where that book was at its best a sprawling multi-character epic, and at its worse badly in need of the editing that Roy allegedly refused; here the author herself is an editor at an independent press and has I think bought her own editing skills to bear – even before accepting the editing of others.

The result is a tightly plotted, highly controlled and focused story easily (and I think best) read in one sitting. It is perhaps no surprise to read that the author drew inspiration from highly regarded TV-shows and how they encourage binge watching via multiple characters and embedded narrative arcs.

But this is also an impressive as well as immediately immersive piece of fiction – the three characters come alive, their distinctive voices (as I have set out above) fit their characters, the author is excellent at conveying a lot in a few words.

And above all this is a fascinating and exploration of: aspiration in a world stacked against you; about the risks and temptations that accrue with advancement; about moral dilemmas in the face of corruption, inequality and injustice; and about the vagaries of opportunity and circumstance which itself creates inequality and inequity of outcome.