A History of Burning - Janika Oza

 A History of Burning - Janika Oza

Release Date:  May 2, 2023

He and She read. 

Beginning in 1898 with a young boy, Pirbhai, being tricked into traveling from India to Africa to help build the East African Railway, this sweeping saga traces the story of four generations told in snapshots through the years. This family is representative of Asians settling in Uganda during British Colonial Rule and, following the country’s independence and ascendence of Idi Amin, their expulsion in 1972 and worldwide resettlement.  

I wasn’t sure about this book.  It did take me a few chapters to settle in,  but once  I did, I couldn’t put it down; I was totally captivated by it.   Beautifully written, I learned a lot of history of which I was only vaguely aware.  There is so much here, but it is not overwhelming.  Well written, there is warmth, love, benevolence, brutality, resilience. 

Whenever I read books that tell stories like this one, I am left aghast about how helpless the world is when confronting dictators, the inhumanity of mankind in how it often treats others and how unwilling some are to assist refugees. This book will stay in my head for a while.

This is an incredible work from a debut author. 

Thanks to #netgalley and #Grandcentralpublishing for the ARC.

*****