Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - In Flammen

I don’t have a lot of words for this book. Megha Majumdar writes a short and powerful piece that grabbed my attention immediately and didn’t let go until I finished. This is a sad story and one that deserves to be told. Jivan’s downfall is heartbreaking, and watching Lovely and PT Sir succeed because of it was so hard to experience. I am in awe. I can’t believe this is a debut.

I do wish Lovely’s POV hadn’t been written in broken English. I don’t see why that was necessary, since she likely thinks in Bengali. And I do think her character, and PT Sir’s character, are a little stereotypical though I enjoyed their character arcs. This book is very pointed (and definitely written for a Western audience which isn’t a bad thing) and I will definitely recommend it to anyone.

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1414's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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emudds's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

this is such a hard book to rate i have very mixed feelings. i think the premise and the use of it to make comments on criminal justice, class, and religion in india are very interesting and meaningful. but, even as someone who loves tragedy as a genre, i'm not sure how necessary it was to include scenes like the graphic depiction of lovely's friend's medical procedure. maybe i've been spoiled by akwaeke emezi's depiction of trans experiences on that point though. i also felt like PT sir was almost a caricature, to the point that it almost undermined the ending events of the novel. it felt less like jivan was let down by the system (though that was still obviously true) and more the victim of his delusions than i would have liked.

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