Oprah Winfrey’s latest book club pick is Megha Majumdar’s A Guardian and a Thief.
Majumdar’s novel, published Tuesday by Knopf, follows two people in a near-future Kolkata that has been ravaged by the climate crisis and famine: Ma, a woman who is planning to move to Michigan with her family, and Boomba, who steals her purse, which contains vital immigration papers. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus wrote of the novel, “This electrifying depiction of dignity and morality under siege reveals the horror hidden by the bland term ‘climate change.’” The book was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and is on the National Book Award shortlist.
Winfrey announced the novel’s selection on CBS Mornings, saying, “I have never read a book quite like this….I chose it because, I thought when I started the book I knew who the guardian and the thief were…and then, the way you perceive the story changes in the middle of the story.”
CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King asked Majumdar, “What is the story you wanted to tell?”
“I wanted to think about what hope and love would look like in a time of climate crisis,” Majumdar replied. “What will it mean to love our children with ferocity and vigor in a time of scarcity? And what will happen when our love for our children clashes with the love that we have for our neighbors, our community, when our individual acts of hope come up against collective acts of hope?”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
