A History of Burning

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

An immersive, kaleidoscopic debut for fans of Homegoing and Pachinko: one family's search for a better life through four continents, four generations and a century of change

At the turn of the twentieth century Pirbhai, a teenage boy, is taken from his village in India and travels perilously across the sea to labour on the East African railroad for the British. There, he is given a ruthless order. Following it will ensure his survival. But it will also torment him and reverberate across 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, when Idi Amin's brutal regime expels the Ugandan Asians, the family has no choice but to flee. 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, a letter arrives that will stoke the flames of the fire that haunts the family. It 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.

A History of Burning is an unforgettable tour de force, an intimate family saga of complicity and resistance, about the stories we share, what remains unspoken and the eternal search for home.

©2023 Janika Oza (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

  • A remarkable debut . . . skillfully interrogates sweeping themes of survival, inheritance, immigration, colonialism and racism . . . Oza’s narrative traverses almost a century of time, four generations of family, five continents and multiple languages . . . The result is a haunting, symphonic tale that speaks to the nuanced complexities of class and trauma

    New York Times

  • An ambitious, powerful read, it will transport you through time and across the globe, with a story that you won’t forget

    Glamour, *Best Books for May*

  • In intimate domestic scenes and scenes of societies in turmoil, [Oza] displays a sure-handed ability to write at both small and large scale and to portray with deep sympathy the universal human desire to find “a little place to simply exist, freely, and with dignity.” An ambitious family drama skilfully explores the bonds of kinship and the yearning for peace and security

    Kirkus (starred review)

  • [An] impressive debut

    Publisher's Weekly

  • This striking epic combines powerful characters of different generations, compelling storytelling, dramatic settings and conflicts, and thoughtful explorations of displacement and belonging, family ties, citizenship, loyalty, loss, and resilience

    Booklist (starred review)

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