A staggering debut about family and home that spans decades and continents. A young man experiences an unexpected cleaving from his family, leading to more separations and, eventually, some reunions. Along the way, I learned much about what was happening in Asia and Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. Unfortunately, the United States curriculum fails to discuss these things in any meaningful way or any way at all mostly.

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.

A History of Burning is a beautiful story of family and hope, but the switching points of view became confusing throughout the 4 generations of family members featured and, while the wisdom shared was profound, it was an incredibly slow read.

This is quite the saga. The beginning could be a little slow to some but once you get into it and know the characters, it is easy to read. The characters will switch a lot in the beginning but it is not hard to keep them straight once you know them. I think this story is the true definition of a saga because it takes place over a long period of time but with one family and how they are affected.

A multi-generational epic, A History of Burning follows an Indian family from their arrival in Uganda in the early 1900s to their exile during Idi Amin’s regime and beyond. Shifting eras and perspectives with ease, it weaves a compelling tale of perseverance, family and the search for home.

I found it difficult to connect through the first third of the story simply because the time frame and characters were shifting so rapidly, it was hard to connect to any one person or storyline. As the story progressed and focused, I connected more, but I wish the pacing of the beginning would have been tighter so I could enjoy it more.

A History of Burning by Janina Oza was a poignant, family novel spanning several generations. It showcases the turmoil faced when a country’s people are forced to migrate around the world to find better lives and to escape poverty. In doing so, families are defined and re-defined as presented in this intense story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Oza's "A History of Burning" offers an up-close glimpse of a history that has largely been buried. Her saga takes the reader from Colonial India to Colonial East Africa (specifically Uganda). The characters are perhaps slightly underdeveloped, but it's clear that Oza's goal is more about telling the story of a people, of a part of the world, of colonialism, more than it is about any single individual. It was, at times, a painful book to read, but I think the effort is worth it.

A History of Burning is a powerful, beautifully written multi-generational family saga. I would recommend it to anyone looking for this kind of story. While I appreciated the skilled writing and storytelling here, I found the pacing a bit off - there is so much story to tell over the course of a century and I did not feel much of a connection to the characters.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the free ebook copy of A History of Burning!

I want to start by saying that my expectations going into this debut were extremely high; unfairly so. I kept seeing A History of Burning being compared to Pachinko, Homegoing, and There, There. And, to me, those books all belong on the highest pedestal (esp Pachinko - that book changed my life 🥹).

This was a multigenerational, historical fic book that followed the history of Indian immigrants. It covered multiple continents and a full century, weaving together themes of family, sacrifice, racism, colonialism, immigration, and identity. The imagery throughout was rich and the food mentioned made my mouth water so much!

That said, the first half felt extremely so slow to me. I didn't want to pick up the book because as soon as I was interested in a storyline or character, it moved on. It felt like there were missing pieces. The last quarter kept me much more intrigued!

Ultimately, if you're a fan of food talk and multigenerational stories that touch on themes of family, sacrifice, racism, colonialism, immigration, loss, and/or identity - then you'll enjoy this book!

A History of Burning by Janika Oza

There is an epic feel to this family saga. Young Pirbhai is taken off the streets of India without a goodbye. He finds himself on the British colonial railway to East Africa, and working in a brutal workforce. His eventual escape from this impossible predicament requires him to commit an act that haunts him but propels him forward. I savored the storytelling of each circumstance and every decision that built the tale of his family's complicated story. Many impossible and sometimes isolating events propel the story forward to new homelands and a third generation. How can the grandchildren have any concept of the circumstances and decisions that made their family who they are today?

Oza shares a raw stream of consciousness for each family member. I felt as though I was immersed in their true feelings of trauma… But Oza's characters always hold an underlying heroic stance. In spite of their bravery and sacrifice, they refuse to expect any recognition for what they have given up for their family members. And, as each generation comes to an age of understanding that unspoken truth of who they are, without exception they refuse to accept any more or any less from each other. The authentic rendering of this family's epic tale is five star and highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC to be published May 2, 2023

With the backdrop of colonialism in India and East Africa from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, including the rise of Amin in Uganda, this novel tells the story of four generations of a family, each member of which has unique personal experiences that play into the storyline. Although most of the family suffers great losses and the inexorable pain of separation, their stories also provide the reader with a sense of hope and the irreplaceability of family bonds. It is a beautifully crafted novel and a very interesting read.

**Full review to be added to NetGalley closer to publication date in May!**

A History of Burning by Janika Oza is an ambitious, stunning, and moving historical novel that I found myself absolutely wrapped up in. I think Oza did an incredible job crafting each and every character in this novel and I became captivated by their lives and journeys throughout the story. This novel is basically split into two big portions between the first and latter halves, and the there is a big tone shift as well that took me a minute to get used to, but that made a lot of sense given the events of the story. As mentioned, this is an incredibly ambitious novel and I was impressed by everything Janika Oza managed to include in this story. I would absolutely recommend this one and plan to keep my eye out for more work from Janika Oza in the future!

What a sweeping, amazing story that will stick with me for years to come. I really enjoyed this book and was drawn into the story immediately!

A History of Burning is a multi-cultural family drama, told from the perspective of numerous members of the same family, as time moves on around them. Pirbhai is a young boy living in India when he unwittingly signs on to work the British railroad expansion in Kenya and Uganda in the early 1900s. From there, we follow him as he grow up, marries, and has children.

This family drama is about what it means to be a foreigner in a country of your own birth, showing the troubled relationships between the British Colonialists, the native Africans, and the Indian workers who come to the country as well. Spanning nearly 100 years, and multiple continents, this story deftly weaves the various viewpoints, all while quietly offering commentary on what it means to be Indian or African or Canadian.

I enjoyed this book, I found it heart wrenching, and moving how as the family is constantly pushed through trial after trial, in the end they stick with each other and are stronger for it. I devoured this book in one day, while traveling, and felt fully immersed in their lives.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the electronic ARC for review.

3.5 stars. A sweeping, multi-generational tale. I struggled to connect with it, but could appreciate the skill in telling the story. I'd never been exposed to any Indian history or culture, so this was all new, and the foreign words were difficult for me to follow. The scope and depth of the family story was fascinating. Well-told, deep, heart-wrenching, it just didn't click with me.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A History of Burning is the outstanding debut novel by Janika Oza. Set mostly in India and Africa, it follows the generations of an Indian family as they are tossed about by political change and familial duty.

The writing is beautiful, and the author has a lot to say about racial tensions and the struggle immigrants face while keeping it organic to the story. The author handles some difficult topics with a gentle hand and doesn't necessarily spell out everything. There is no bludgeoning here, just a carefully constructed story of loss, hard choices, and a desire to achieve. As someone who has not been fortunate enough to visit India or Uganda, a glossary of terms would have been helpful.

Overall, I enjoyed this story, and I would recommend it to all readers but especially those who enjoy generational stories and/or historical fiction set in Asia/Africa.

Not family friendly due to subject matter.

This was a beautiful, moving work of art. I look forward to reading it again and again. Thank you so much for the chance to read this.

I am a big fan of Pachinko and Beasts of a Little Land so I was super interested in A History Of Burning. I know that Uganda had been swept up in British Colonialism as well as dictators after the fact, but I didn’t know much about the history of the country or the large Asian population that had ended up there in the twentieth century. This story follows a family, told in each chapter by a different narrator, from the later 1800’s up through the 1990’s. It was a little hard to keep track how old everyone was, so I would have to check the dates on the chapters often, but it is a beautiful story that speaks to immigration, belonging, family and perseverance. It’s fascinating to read stories where marriages are made out of convenience and then the married couple manages to stay together for their entire lives… it is so different from the American “I married my best friend” narrative we are so familiar with nowadays. The trauma the family had to live through generation after generation is heartbreaking and choices people had to make aren’t always black and white (of course), but ultimately had long standing effects on the family history.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

This is a gorgeous family saga, the kind of book that gives you a hundred years of one family, following from one generation to another including in-laws (but not friends/peripheral characters as POV). It's about an Indian family that immigrates to Uganda while both are still under British rule, and...the twentieth century plays out from there, the Partition, independence for both regions, the rise of Idi Amin, another round of immigration (hello, Toronto!), all of it. It is harrowing but not only harrowing; it is heartbreaking but not only heartbreaking. There's joy, there's hope, there's camaraderie, there's all the emotions of family and community life.

I don't want to say "one doesn't often see" because perhaps I'm wrong, perhaps there are loads of books about this and my white American self has just not found them. But. I don't often see books that are about the fraught ground that comes of being a colonized people that is then part of colonization for another people. And that complexity is beautifully handled here--the characters have a wide range of reactions to each other, and being someone we care about does not mean that you're necessarily right about any one thing--or that rightness is achievable in your circumstances. These characters are all doing the best they can, but their bests vary wildly--as people do.

This is a warm and rich and compelling book, and I'm so glad that it's coming soon so the rest of you can read it too. Read it when you're in a place to deal with difficult things, but absolutely read it.