A Guardian And A Thief

Description

By (author) Majumdar, Megha

:

NAMED A NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE
NEW YORK TIMES
,
NEW YORKER, WASHINGTON POST
, NPR,
ATLANTIC
,
TIME
,
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
,
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
,
ELLE
,
KIRKUS
,
BOOKPAGE

OPRAH”S BOOK CLUB PICK

TIME
MUST-READ BOOK

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION

FINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE

‘An indictment of this moment and a timeless parable about the lengths we go to for love and self-preservation, written in exuberant prose – this is a novel that will burrow its way into your soul and remain there forever’
Tahmima Anam

Megha Majumdar’s electrifying new novel, following her acclaimed 
New York Times
 Bestseller 
A Burning
—longlisted for the National Book Award—is set in a near-future Kolkata, India, ravaged by climate change and food scarcity, in which two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other—a piercing and propulsive tour de force.
 
In a near-future Kolkata beset by flooding and famine, Ma, her two-year-old daughter Mishti, and her elderly father Dadu are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma’s husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma’s purse, with all the treasured immigration documents within it, has been stolen.

Set over the course of one week, A Guardian and a Thief tells two stories: the story of Ma’s frantic search for the thief while keeping hunger at bay during a worsening food shortage; and the story of Boomba, the thief, whose desperation to care for his family drives him to commit a series of escalating crimes whose consequences he cannot fathom. With stunning control and command, Megha Majumdar paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families, each operating from a place of ferocious love and undefeated hope, each discovering how far they will go to secure their children’s future as they stave off encroaching catastrophe.

A masterful new work from one of the most exciting voices of her generation.

‘A true literary achievement… Majumdar creates a tense and deeply compassionate portrait of desperation, fear and the combined selflessness and selfishness of parenthood… Detail is the strongest thing in A Guardian and a Thief. It conveys the nuances of not only love but also wisdom… a true joy to read.’ 
New York Times
 

Review quote:
”An indictment of this moment and a timeless parable about the lengths we go to for love and self-preservation, written in exuberant prose – this is a novel that will burrow its way into your soul and remain there forever.”
Tahmima Anam

”A piercing and empathetic examination of the moral complexities of survival and how love can blur the lines between right and wrong in the face of disaster” 
TIME

‘A true literary achievement… Majumdar creates a tense and deeply compassionate portrait of desperation, fear and the combined selflessness and selfishness of parenthood… Detail is the strongest thing in A Guardian and a Thief. It conveys the nuances of not only love but also wisdom… a true joy to read.’
 New York Times

”A mesmerizing morality play that demonstrates how categories like ‘victim’ and ‘thief’ collapse under conditions of scarcity.” 
Atlantic

”An unputdownable, searing morality tale” 
Boston Globe

”[A Guardian and a Thief] is a perfect novel: 200 pages of tightly honed panic about life in a