Janika Oza

History of Burning

FOUR GENERATIONS. THREE SISTERS. ONE DIVIDED NATION. 'A remarkable debut . . . haunting, symphonic' New York Times India, 1898. Pirbhai is thirteen when he steps into a dhow on the vague promise of work. The voyage is long. He has no money, no voice, no power -- and will make impossible choices in the name of survival. Sonal is fierce and loving, always willing to fight for what she believes in. When a young man called Pirbhai walks into her father's shop in Kenya, she knows he is part of her future. Together they set out for a new life in Uganda. Their granddaughters, three sisters, come of age in a divided nation. Latika falls headlong into the student protest movement. Mayuri's ambitions will take her far from home. And fearless Kiya will have to carry the weight of her family's past. Finally, parents, children and grandchildren will scatter across the world, fleeing the brutality of Idi Amin, forging new paths in London, marching for equality in 1990s Canada, searching for a safe mooring. But under everything lies a secret. And one day, a letter arrives that will fan its embers into a flame. Read one family's search for a better life in this immersive, kaleidoscopic debut for fans of Half of a Yellow Sun, Homegoing and Pachinko 'Vast and intricate, alight with love and contained fury... A book I want to press into readers' hands and discuss for hours' Megha Majumdar, author of A BURNING

A History of Burning

Four generations. Three sisters. One impossible choice. A profoundly moving debut novel spanning India, Uganda, England, and Canada, about how one act of survival reverberates across generations of a family and their search for a place of their own. Instant bestseller. Winner of the 2024 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. Finalist for the 2024 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction. Finalist for the 2024 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Finalist for the 2023 Governor General's Award for Fiction. A New York Times Notable Book of 2023. One of The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2023. One of Kobo Canada’s Top 20 Best Books of 2023. Named a Best Canadian Fiction Book of the Year by the Globe and Mail, CBC Books, and 49th Shelf. India, 1898. Pirbhai is the thirteen-year-old breadwinner for his family when he steps into a dhow on the promise of work, only to be taken across the ocean to labour on the East African Railway for the British. With no money or voice but a strong will to survive, he makes an impossible choice that will haunt him for the rest of his days and reverberate across generations. Pirbhai’s children go on to thrive in Uganda during the waning days of British colonial rule. As the country moves towards independence and military dictatorship, Pirbhai’s granddaughters—sisters Latika, Mayuri, and Kiya—come of age in a divided nation, each forging her own path for the future. Latika is an aspiring journalist with a fierce determination to fight for what she believes in. Mayuri’s ambitions will take her farther away from her family than she ever imagined. And fearless Kiya will have to bear the weight of their secrets. Forced to flee Uganda during Idi Amin’s brutal expulsion of South Asians in 1972, the family must start their lives over again in Toronto. Then one day news arrives that makes each generation question how far they are willing to go, and who they are willing to defy, to secure a place of their own in the world. A masterful and breathtakingly intimate saga of colonialism and exile, complicity and resistance, A History of Burning is a radiant debut about the stories our families choose to share—and those that remain unspoken.

A Novel

An exhilarating and profoundly moving epic novel spanning India, Uganda, England, and Canada, about how one act of survival reverberates across four generations of a family and their search for a place of their own. At the turn of the twentieth century, Pirbhai, a teenage boy looking for work, is taken from his village in India to labour on the East African Railway for the British. One day, he makes a desperate choice to ensure his survival that will shadow his family’s future for decades to come. During the waning days of British colonial rule, and as Uganda moves towards Independence and military dictatorship, Pirbhai’s children and grandchildren come of age in a divided nation. In 1972, under Idi Amin’s brutal regime, the family has no choice but to flee, and in the chaos, they leave something devastating and unexpected behind. As Pirbhai’s grandchildren find their way back to each other in exile in Toronto, news arrives that makes each generation question how far they are willing to go, and who they are willing to defy, in order to secure their own place in the world. An intimate family saga of complicity and resistance, A History of Burning is an astonishing novel about the stories we share, the ones that remain unspoken, and the eternal search for home. With this radiant debut, Janika Oza announces herself as one of the most exciting writers of her generation.

Janika Oza

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