A Guardian and a Thief: Oprah's Book Club: A Novel

Set in a near-future Kolkata, India, this novel follows Ma, her two-year-old daughter, and her elderly father as they prepare to leave the collapsing city and join Ma's husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After obtaining their visas, they pack for their flight—but wake to discover Ma's purse, containing their immigration documents, has been stolen. Over the course of one week, the narrative unfolds two parallel stories: Ma's desperate search for the thief while managing a worsening food shortage, and Boomba, the thief, whose need to provide for his own family drives him to commit escalating crimes with unforeseen consequences. Through these intertwined accounts, Majumdar portrays two families each driven by fierce love and determination to protect their children's futures as they confront mounting catastrophe.