Discussion Questions:
1. What did you think of PT Sir initially? Did your opinion of him change by the end of the book?
2. Have you come across the term hijra before? What did you think of Lovely as hijra? How do you feel about Lovely?
3. What did you think of Divan?
4. The story line is broken up with interludes. Did you like them? Which one did you like? Did it enhance your reading experience?
5. What do you think of the bribery and corruption in the story? Does it seem like it’s everywhere in the country? Do you think it’s specific to India?
6. What do each character aspire for? Do they all just want a comfy life?
7. The book has many themes such a class, fate, corruption, gender, injustice, poverty to name a few. Which theme impacted you the most? Why?
8. Several times in the book we see that the characters adjusted their morals to get their personal dreams. Who do you think had the most flexible morals? Are your morals adaptable? Can you relate to it?
9. What was your favorite part of the book? Why?
10. What was your least favorite part of the book? Why?
11. What did you find most surprising in A Burning? Why?
12. Social media was used to find and target Jivan as the terrorist. How do you feel about social media? Is it a gift or curse? Do you suppress your thoughts on social media? Are you worried about expressing your opinions?
13. Were you surprised by then ending? Did you expect or want a happy ending?
14. Did you like how Lovely and PT Sir had their dreams met at the end of the book? Did you expect their ending to be played out like that in the end?
15. Did you enjoy A Burning? Who would you recommend it to?
Check out A Burning book review!
Enhance Your Book Club:
Check out Study Guide: A Burning by Megha Majumdar for an in-depth look of the book, including chapter analysis and commentary on major characters, as well as major themes and quotes.