V plamenech – Majumdar Megha (2023)

When the novel "In Flames" was published in New York in the summer of 2020, written by the then-unknown, barely thirty-year-old, English-speaking Indian author Megha Majumdar, the book made an impact like a revelation. Shortly after its release, it received enthusiastic acclaim from readers and critics alike, who welcomed the author's debut as one of the most remarkable literary works of the year. The gripping drama set in contemporary India unfolds at the moment when Džiban, a seventeen-year-old girl from a Kolkata slum, writes an ill-considered critical comment about the government in an online discussion regarding a recent terrorist attack. The comment on Facebook by young Džiban, who is working hard to break free from her social predestination, turns her life upside down. She is accused of inciting the attack that claimed many lives and faces the death penalty. ***** The story is told from three different perspectives, which the author masterfully intertwines. Alongside Džiban, there is Lovely, a young actress who dreams of becoming a Bollywood film star, and Džiban's physical education teacher, referred to in the book as Mr. Teacher, who aspires to a political career and eagerly collaborates with the Indian judiciary. Both have the opportunity to help the accused Džiban, but they also have...