OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK
SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
FINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE
Megha Majumdar's electrifying new novel, following her acclaimed New York Times Bestseller A Burning-longlisted for the National Book Award-is set in a near-future Kolkata, India, ravaged by climate change and food scarcity, in which two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other-a piercing and propulsive tour de force.
In a near-future Kolkata beset by flooding and famine, Ma, her two-year-old daughter Mishti, and her elderly father Dadu are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma's husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma's purse, with all the treasured immigration documents within it, has been stolen.
Set over the course of one week, A Guardian and a Thief tells two stories: the story of Ma's frantic search for the thief while keeping hunger at bay during a worsening food shortage; and the story of Boomba, the thief, whose desperation to care for his family drives him to commit a series of escalating crimes whose consequences he cannot fathom. With stunning control and command, Megha Majumdar paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families, each operating from a place of ferocious love and undefeated hope, each discovering how far they will go to secure their children's future as they stave off encroaching catastrophe.
A masterful new work from one of the most exciting voices of her generation.
| ISBN: | 9781398551640 |
| Publication date: | 29th January 2026 |
| Author: | Megha Majumdar |
| Publisher: | Scribner UK |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 336 pages |
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
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OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK
SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
FINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE
Megha Majumdar's electrifying new novel, following her acclaimed New York Times Bestseller A Burning-longlisted for the National Book Award-is set in a near-future Kolkata, India, ravaged by climate change and food scarcity, in which two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other-a piercing and propulsive tour de force.
In a near-future Kolkata beset by flooding and famine, Ma, her two-year-old daughter Mishti, and her elderly father Dadu are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma's husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma's purse, with all the treasured immigration documents within it, has been stolen.
Set over the course of one week, A Guardian and a Thief tells two stories: the story of Ma's frantic search for the thief while keeping hunger at bay during a worsening food shortage; and the story of Boomba, the thief, whose desperation to care for his family drives him to commit a series of escalating crimes whose consequences he cannot fathom. With stunning control and command, Megha Majumdar paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families, each operating from a place of ferocious love and undefeated hope, each discovering how far they will go to secure their children's future as they stave off encroaching catastrophe.
A masterful new work from one of the most exciting voices of her generation.
A Guardian and a Thief features in the following genres: Crime and Mystery, Family Drama, General Fiction, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, Narrative theme: Displacement, exile, migration, Science fiction: near future, Speculative fiction
A Guardian and a Thief is available in Paperback, Hardback
A Guardian and a Thief was written by Megha Majumdar and published by Scribner UK
A Guardian and a Thief has 336 pages
£15.29
