A History of Burning

Welcome friend! I first heard about A History of Burning in April 2023 when its review copy started circulation in the Grand Central Publishing newsletter. Unfortunately, I did not get a copy but fortunately, my library got the book and I was the first one to read it! I have read about India but I haven’t read a lot about Indians in other parts of the world. A History of Burning is a multi-generational story, spanning almost a hundred years and touching on histories of East Africa, India, the UK and Canada. I didn’t know much when I started reading it. Now, at the end, I have learned so much that I will never forget. Check out the synopsis below and then read on for my thoughts.

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A History of Burning – Review

The last multi-generational book I read was We Measure the Earth with our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama (read my review here). If you enjoyed that one, you will adore A History of Burning. For this review, I will talk about each of the character perspectives and how they contribute to the overall storyline as well as comment on the writing and history. Let’s get started with a family tree:

The Characters

Pirbhai

Pirbhai came to Africa in 1898. He was only a young teenager then, the oldest son in his family. It was a time of drought and famine in Gujarat, India and in order to support his family, he was looking for work. He ended up on a boat, spending months on the sea to reach a new land where he became part of the group building a railway. The English were colonising Africa and they wanted to keep Asians and Africans separate. It didn’t matter though because to survive, Pirbhai picked up the language of the native people and started to work hard, with the hope to send money back home soon and the guilt of having left them so suddenly. There is a pivotal moment in Pirbhai’s life during the time he is with the railways: at the command of the manager, he and his friend have to torch a village and clear the way for the railway. No one is hurt but homes are destroyed. Pir never forgets this moment. It is one he passes on to his granddaughter. It is one that haunts him forever as he builds a life for himself and starts a family. 

Pir is an optimistic man of few words. Once the railway is done, he asks for a job at a shop run by Indians in Kenya. He meets Sonal there.

Sonal

Sonal is the eldest daughter of a shop owner. Her family moved from India when she was young, seeing an opportunity to prosper in Africa with new construction. She feels responsible for her siblings and community. Her parents marry her to Pir and together, they move to Uganda, to start their own life. She is a healer, helping Africans and Asians alike with medicinal herbs. When she sees war looming above them, she saves Pir from being enlisted. She is more educated than him and supports him as best she can. I loved the life they built together with their strength of characters. The years in Uganda are described beautifully and it was so easy to settle there with these characters.

Sonal and Pir have three kids: two daughters, Sarita and Varsha, and a son, Vinod. 

Vinod

Vinod is a lively boy, in love with cricket. He doesn’t care about Africans and Asians, he just sees everyone as kids. Under his father’s guidance, he learns English. “No use worrying about rooting down. Just focus on growing upwards.” Part of the beauty of multi-generational stories and multiple POVs for me is to see the same characters from multiple angles. The father that Vinod has in Pir is only described in Vinod’s perspective. Though these words were said in the context of employment in a colonized world where the overseers are watching with apprehension. I find his words about working hard still true:

“Work harder, so that they see you. The more they see you, the less they watch you. And when they stop watching, that’s when you’re free.”

As Vinod grows and special occasions bring him in contact with other people in the community, he realizes that his family is not rich. They don’t have much for jewellery even at his sister’s wedding. Vinod dreams of moving to India and living there but he also sees all the sacrifices his parents have made for him and his sisters. He realizes his place is with them and so he stays and establishes himself, moving his family upwards.

Rajni

Though Pir does not talk about his time with the railways, his body and mind are scared from the work. He is still hopeful for a better future for his children and continues to be in touch with his family in India. Many of his loved ones are gone. In order to keep relations active, he asks his relatives to find Vinod, a girl of marriageable age. This Is how Rajni comes into their lives. It is 1947. India’s partition is happening and it is no longer safe. She is mad at her parents for sending her away to Africa. She wants to be with them and doesn’t see how being away is safer. 

Begrudgingly, she accepts Vinod and finds a loveable husband in him. Pir and Sonal are lovely in-laws and they welcome and support her in ways she had never imagined. Through the partition, she loses her young brothers and this weighs heavy on her forever. While Sonal never wanted a son in times of war, Rajni desperately wanted a son, maybe to give the care she wanted to give her brothers. But again and again, she has a girl and she disconnects from her children. 

As A History in Buring progresses, the narratives become more intertwined.

Latika, Mayuri, Kiya and Harilal

Vinod and Rajni have three girls: Latika, Mayuri and Kiya. Each of them have their own point of views in the story. They are born post-independence for India when independence sentiments are high in Uganda. The people want the colonizers gone and for a while, the segregation of Africans and Asians is over. Children start attending the same school together. But everything is not yet ok and Latika finds a fire within her to want equal rights for all. In a country with African natives, Asian and colonial settlers, how does society move forward?

Latika becomes a secret journalist. Mayuri finds an opportunity to study in India while Kiya is still young and free. Relations strain between Latika and the parents and she marries Arun against their wishes. A hellish year with her in-laws brings her back to her parents and she again is able to be with her sisters, while secretly continuing to write. Uganda falls under a dictatorship and an order is given for all people of Asian origin to leave the country within 90 days. I was deeply shaken by this. To be told point blank to leave everything they had built and go somewhere else. My heart broke with Vinod who has never known any other place. He was born and raised in Uganda. My heart broke for Rajni who had already left one country and now has to do it all over again. 

Latika’s perspective is the most complicated of all of them. She has hidden behind Arun and let him be the face of the movement but that means when they come for her, they take him. She grieves his loss and finds herself angry at herself for bringing this upon them and her son, Harilal, for being the reason they showed her mercy. She cannot face what she has done and she hands over Hari to Rajni, shutting the door in their faces. They have to catch the plane for Canada and have to leave her. This weighs heavily on all of them and through the following narratives, I saw how the weight is carried by each of them: Vinod, who has a room in the house for Latika, Rajni, who embraces Hari as her son, and Kiya, who falls into darkness and despair. The wound is so deep that the family refuses to tell Mayuri what happened to Laitka.

Time passes and Mayuri joins the family in Canada. They face it all together: refugees making a new life, Hari growing up amongst immigrants. What is never lost through the years is the culture. The family always finds others like them. They find solace and strength in their customs and traditions. Vinod has never been to India but he continues to live his parents’ teachings with Rajni’s help.

The Writing

People are complicated as are relationships. Our past shapes us, regardless of whether we want it to. This shows in each of the perspectives in this book. The sheer number of them may feel like too many but each is distinct and loveable. The teachings and lives of Pir and Sonal continue to inspire their children and grandchildren. I felt part of the family and missed them too when they passed away. 

The historical events in this book are rarely explicitly stated. They evoke curiosity to learn more about the things I didn’t know (which was a lot) and to see their effects echo throughout the lives of the characters. 

In the last hundred years a lot has changed. People have moved from their homeland, put roots in other places, sometimes, they have been exiled from these very places. A History of Burning is a story of survival, of loving life for its bright and simple moments, of facing the darkness when it comes for us and always moving forward. I love how this is rooted deeply in culture and family values, intertwined with the drive to want better for the children. There is a lot of pain and grief but there is also celebration and growing up.

I will be coming back to A History of Burning again. Through the family of characters, this book shows how love and culture transcend time and continents. It’s a story about my people, inspired by history that I was not aware of. I take strength from this book and am proud of my Indian culture and people. It does a fabulous job of celebrating it while bringing awareness to dark parts of history that often get ignored in the wake of well-known events. 

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A must read to understand the immigrant experience. I highly encourage you to pick this up, especially if you are of Indian or African origin, or if you enjoy multi-generational stories. Add it to your Goodreads if you want to read it. Ariel enjoyed this one as well and it gave her more background in Indian/African colonial history.