A Guardian and a Thief

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2026 A GUARDIAN 'BOOK TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2026' OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK TIME MUST-READ BOOK WINNER OF THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION FINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE 'Majumdar evades the narrative clunkiness that inevitably attends attempts to explain India to the west. This frees her up not only to tell a story of universal moral interest, but also to deliver a perceptive account of specifically Indian anxieties.… A Guardian and a Thief dramatises, to superb effect, the Indian elite's great fear: a world in which they are forced to share' Guardian 'Nothing goes to plan in this ­propulsive black farce which ­combines ­vertiginous plot twists and a persuasive doomy atmosphere with a terrific spin on the moral hypocrisy of the Indian middle classes.' Daily Mail 'Gripping… [It] is an impressive novel. Pages suffused with ambient menace also accommodate tenderness' Spectator 'An indictment of this moment and a timeless parable about the lengths we go to for love and self-preservation, written in exuberant prose - this is a novel that will burrow its way into your soul and remain there forever' Tahmima Anam NAMED A NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, NEW YORKER, WASHINGTON POST, NPR, ATLANTIC, TIME, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, NEW YORK MAGAZINE, ELLE, KIRKUS, BOOKPAGE 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 true literary achievement… Majumdar creates a tense and deeply compassionate portrait of desperation, fear and the combined selflessness and selfishness of parenthood… Detail is the strongest thing in A Guardian and a Thief. It conveys the nuances of not only love but also wisdom… a true joy to read.' New York Times

Megha Majumdar is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel A Burning, which was nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize, and the American Library Association's Andrew Carnegie Medal. It was named one of the best books of the year by media including the Guardian, Washington Post, New York Times, NPR, Atlantic, Vogue, and TIME Magazine. A 2022 Whiting Award winner, she was born and raised in Kolkata, India, and holds degrees in anthropology from Harvard and Johns Hopkins. She is the former editor in chief of Catapult books, and lives in New York.