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In 'A Guardian and a Thief,' author Majumdar illuminates the moral crises posed by climate change

"A Guardian and a Thief" is Indian-American writer Megha Majumdar's second novel. Tapped as Oprah’s Book Club selection for October 2025, the novel is a finalist for the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize.
Book jacket art courtesy Knopf Publishers; Majumdar photo by Marco Guigliarelli.
"A Guardian and a Thief" is the second novel by Indian-American writer Megha Majumdar.

Tom's next guest is the best-selling Indian-American novelist, Megha Majumdar.

Born in Kolkata, India, she moved to the U.S. for her education when she was 19 years old. She studied at Harvard, and later received a graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Her first novel, A Burning, was published in 2020. It was nominated for the National Book Award, and several other prestigious awards, and it was chosen as a best book of the year by The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, The Atlantic, Vogue, and TIME Magazine.

Her new book, like her debut novel, is attracting all sorts of attention and awards interest. It’s set in Kolkata, as the city deals with the ravages of climate change. It’s called A Guardian and a Thief.

Megha Majumdar joins us on Zoom from her home in Brooklyn, New York.

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