#a burning

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

A Burning by Megha Majumdar

goodreads

Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, determined to move up in life, who is accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is an opportunistic gym teacher who hitches his aspirations to a right-wing political party, and finds that his own ascent becomes linked to Jivan's fall. Lovely--an irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth and hope and humor--has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear. Taut, symphonic, propulsive, and riveting from its opening lines, A Burning has the force of an epic while being so masterfully compressed it can be read in a single sitting. Majumdar writes with dazzling assurance at a breakneck pace on complex themes that read here as the components of a thriller: class, fate, corruption, justice, and what it feels like to face profound obstacles and yet nurture big dreams in a country spinning toward extremism. An extraordinary debut.

Mod opinion: I haven't heard of this novel before, but it sounds quite interesting!

[qbdatabase]

Daily Book - A Burning

A Burning Megha Majumdar Adult Fiction, 2020, 320 pg Muslim Indian female MC; Indian hijra transgender female MC Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, determined to move up in life, who is accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is an opportunistic gym teacher who hitches his aspirations to a right-wing political party, and finds that his own ascent becomes linked to Jivan’s fall. Lovely–an irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth and hope and humor–has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.

[the-final-sentence]

They will watch, wide-eyed, the one movie that plays in the theater on their half day off from carpentry or construction or cleaning bathrooms, while PT Sir, in the government office’s special elevator, moves upward.

Megha Majumdar, from A Burning

[oh-s-a-m-u]

rant about its just a burning memory

i just listened to its just a burning memory and i wondered how it came to be because it sounds so.. depressing? i couldnt even explain it. the feeling it brought to me was unexplainable, yet melancholic enough for me to want to find out more. It was scary, yet sad, but at the same time i just couldnt pin-point the feeling. Then, i found the album. i cant remember the exact name, all i know is that its something along the lines of "everything at the end of time" or "its jsut a burning memory", i cant remember. And that was what was so horrifying about it. i started listening to it, and as i did i read through the comments on this 6 hour long video, of so many different songs. So many comments said they listened to it all and it changed their view on life, or how 15 minutes in thye were crying. I thought they were just being dramatic, so while i listened in my dark little room, i read through the comments of this horrifying album. Most of the comments talked about their family members sufering from dementia, the way it just kept getting worse and its just so *sad* to read. I read, my eyes filling with horror at the stories i heard. And yet, now i cant even remember them. Which would be normal, of course, until you remember the album is about *dementia.* it makes me anxious, thinking how could i, a young fella, forget about something that made me cry so easily, filing it away somewhere in my mind where i couldnt reach.

The song was split into a lot of chapters, A1 being its jsut a burning memory, the next one being A2, then A3, A4, A5, A6, and then B1. All the songs were about 3-5 minutes long, and they were all named after dementia/alzheimers. A1 is the start of dementia, where you just have this bad feeling, gnawing at you, but its probably nothing, Just a burning memory. A2, mostly the same, but the feeling has faded a bit, so its calmer. But you still dont know whats happening. After a bit, i have personally listened until B6, so i dont know if its true, but at the later stages, close to the end, the music is so horrific but its just too *real.* I had listened to B6, and had started crying while reading, just the idea of dementia giving me goosebumps, making me shiver. It probably didnt help that i was alone, in my house, lights turned off completely, phone at 14%, slowly going down until it inevitably would turn off. I didnt have a charger available, (i did but in the dark and sobbing hysterically i couldnt see it-) so it just reminded me even more of dementia, of how the people who are close to the patient have to see the way their body remains fine, but their mind is decaying. Watching, listening, interacting, knowing that theyre gonna forget them inevitably. Are going to die. A slow, painful death, not even aware of it because they *wont even remember their name.*

My eyes are tearing up as i write this, but its just so agonizing i cant help it. The way music could give such drastic changes to peoples's *lives* had gotten me laughing, giggling, thinking thats impossible, until i listened to the album. Even after i turned off my phone, turned off the comments, sat there and tried to stop thinking about it, i couldnt. Because suddenly, all the little things i couldnt always remember were screaming at my mind, making me try to remember. 'What was my friends' dogs name?' 'I don't know.' 'I can't remember.' '*I CAN'T REMEMBER.*' 'Okay- okay, what about ah- shit, i dont know- the grandmothers name?' 'my mums name?!' 'her maiden name?' 'ANYTHING?!' I just tried so hard, but i still couldnt remember and it drove me insane. The fact that people with dementia had to suffer through this, but worse and unable to remember their way home, their closest friends name, their parents, children, *family, pets, work, even their life-* it just makes me sick.

And all this, after i listened to 15 minutes of a 6 hour album.

God save those who's friends, family, anyone they know is suffering from dementia. It's so horrific to think about, yet people live their everyday lives, complaining about an exam they didnt study for, being late to work, such small things.. when they could be forgetting their entire lives, their friends and family, pets and children- I sound like a broken record, repeating similar things so much, but its true, its real, and its horrifying.

Bless you.

[candycatfalls]

bill cmon man this is getting embarrassing

[killingmyselfbutnotdying]

"Friends dont look at friends that way" COWARD. I look at my friends with awe in my eyes, my chest is filled with love, im glowing because i get to be near my friends. I look at my friends and i would give them my everything. SO SKILL ISSUE, look at your friends with all the love that you have

[canine-gray]

What we could have had WHAT WE COULD HAVE HAD

[galindathegay]

Rage. In my heart. All-consuming. FUCK AI.

[saulwexler]

how to explain to non-americans that the better call saul ads aren’t exaggerated for comedic effect they are super normie

[starlene]

Here's a nice story I learned in the Norwegian ski museum:

In 1895, polar explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen were having a bad time. Their expedition had faced some hardships and they were forced to stay on Franz Josef Land in a little hut they built out of mud and stones. In their hut, they slept for circa 20 hours a day, and spent the remaining four hours watching the northern lights or reminiscing about the comforts of home and the books they had read.

After several months of this, and nine months of sleeping in the same sleeping bag to stay warm, on New Year's Eve, Nansen finally gathered his courage and asked Johansen if they should start adressing each other with the informal you.

This is where the story ended in the museum, so unfortunately, I can't tell you whether Johansen answered yes or no.

[luthienne]

i wake up thirsty and i think of palestine. i go to the doctor’s office and i think of palestine. a sign in the corner of the waiting room says ‘this is a place of healing, disruptive behavior will not be tolerated’ and i think of palestine. they probably weren’t thinking of bombs and snipers and mass graves in parking lots. i call my parents and i think of palestine. i drive to the grocery store and i think of palestine. i look at the clear blue sky and i think of palestine. i put the dishes away and i think of palestine. i feed my cat and i think of palestine. i listen to music and i think of palestine. i read poetry and i think of palestine. i text my friends and i think of palestine. i think of palestine and i think of palestine and i think of palestine

[zegalba]

[bruciemilf]

Batman isn’t a mask; It’s a leash. In this essay I will—

[smokinghorse]

Burnout is a jockey and he's riding me to death.

[lumity-rights]

jenna ortega telling winona ryder she doesn’t have to take off her sunglasses……chappell roan yelling back at the photographer to shut the fuck up…….yea gen z celebrities are reestablishing boundaries btwn them and the public and we love to see it