A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar... A Review

It took me a surprisingly long time to finish this 200(ish)-page novel, and at several points I almost set it aside. I found myself losing interest in the story, even as I was consistently struck by the beauty of Megha Majumdar’s writing. Words arranged so gracefully they seem to float off the page, like music meant to be heard rather than read.

Set in a future India ravaged by brutal heat and widespread food shortages, the novel follows two people and the families they are desperately trying to protect. Ma lives with her aging father and two-year-old daughter while volunteering at a shelter. Her husband has already made it to Michigan, where he has found work as an engineer, and the story unfolds during the tense final week before Ma and her family are scheduled to leave India and join him in the United States.

Then there is Boomba, whom we first meet as the thief who breaks into Ma’s home one night. He steals her carefully hoarded food—and, more devastatingly, her purse containing the immigration documents she needs to escape. From this moment begins the story of the “guardian” and the “thief,” though as the novel progresses, those labels become increasingly unstable. The lines blur until you are left asking yourself a deeply uncomfortable question: what would you do to save your family?

Majumdar’s depiction of the city is stunning. The streets of Kolkata feel vividly alive—the heat, the noise, the relentless pressures of living in that environment. But alongside that beauty is an overwhelming sense of desperation. The suffering of the people is rendered equally vivid, leaving the reader weighed down by sadness.

The plot unfolds as a chain of escalating catastrophes, each one pulling Ma’s family and Boomba’s deeper into crisis. By the time the novel reaches its final pages, everything converges in a way I didn’t expect.

When I closed the book, I was left unsettled and unsure how to feel. I found myself wondering what the novel ultimately wanted to say. Is it that morality collapses under extreme pressure? That “thief” and “guardian” are roles defined by perspective? That desperate times demand desperate—and unforgivable—choices?

This is a beautifully written book that left me emotionally drained and deeply conflicted, asking questions it refuses to answer neatly.

A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Mejumdar was Published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2025. It was a finalist for the National Book Award and was an Oprah's Book Club Pick. 

I'm wavering between 3 stars and 4 stars. So, I think 3.5 stars is the final decision. It's a short read, but not a quick read. An incredibly written book, but a depressing read. I would recommend it, but be prepared...