A BURNING by Megha Majumdar

This novel revolves around three characters, whose pivot point is Jivan.  She quit school, where PT Sir was her physical education teacher, after passing her 10^th grade exams.  Jivan now works in retail and gives English lessons to Lovely, an aspiring transgender actress.  Then she posts an inflammatory comment on social media that puts her in the crosshairs of the police, who are looking for a train bomber who killed 100 people.  Although Jivan was not involved in the bombing, she is soon behind bars with a court-appointed lawyer trying her case, which hinges somewhat on the testimonies of Lovely and PT Sir.  The latter is still puzzled as to why Jivan quit school and by sheer happenstance has found himself working for a political party who hopes to gain power in the upcoming election.  His job, unfortunately for Jivan, is to testify against accused criminals.  Lovely’s passion on the witness stand catapults her career into overdrive.  Thus, Lovely and PT Sir find their lives suddenly thrust in an upward trajectory that was previously unimaginable, whereas Jivan’s life is in a dangerously downward spiral.  Jivan makes some unfortunate judgment errors, particularly with regard to whom she can trust, but Lovely and PT Sir are the more complex characters and the ones whose stories held my attention.  They both face decisions about whether or not to ignore their consciences in order to better their own existences and to gain some modicum of power.  This book takes place in India, but the level of corruption and governmental retaliation is not entirely unfamiliar, even in the U.S.  Bigotry against Muslims is another prominent theme, and one particular act of violence on the part of mob vigilantes against an innocent man is actually just as horrific as the train bombing.