A History of Burning

Four generations. Three sisters. One impossible choice. Tricked aboard a boat to East Africa, Pirbhai is only thirteen when he is forced by the British into labouring on the railway. Under sweltering heat, hungry and frightened, he commits a terrible act just to survive. He will never tell a soul, even when he meets Sonal, a fierce, loving woman with whom he starts a family in Uganda, in hope of a better life. But their granddaughters come of age in a divided nation. Finally forced to flee, the family scatters across the world. They take with them a steel pot, a handful of photos, and a secret – that one day, will help them find each other again.

A History of Burning is a gorgeous family portrait of love, survival, inheritance - and the eternal search for home. One family's search for a better life, for fans of Half of a Yellow Sun, Homegoing, and Pachinko.

"A remarkable debut . . . haunting, symphonic." New York Times

"Vast and intricate, alight with love and contained fury . . . A book I want to press into readers' hands and discuss for hours." – Megha Majumdar