What are good book club discussion questions for A Guardian and a Thief?

Spoiler-free questions to get the conversation going: Before we talk about the book at all: where did you read it, and did you find yourself reaching for a glass of water more than usual?; The title gives you two words, guardian and thief. Which one did your heart gravitate toward as you started reading, and did that shift?; This is a book about people caring for other people under pressure. Who in your own life has quietly guarded you, and did any scene here bring them to mind?; Majumdar writes about water the way other books write about money or love. Did reading it change how it feels to turn on your tap, even for a day?; The book is set in a near-future India, but it is full of very ordinary domestic texture: meals, errands, family logistics. Which of those small homey details comforted you most while the larger world was fraying?.

What food and drinks should I serve at a A Guardian and a Thief book club?

Food: Big pot of khichdi with ghee, lime, and papad, Masala-buttered toast and chai biscuits on a shared platter, and Warm sooji halwa in small bowls. Drinks: Endless pot of cardamom-ginger chai (non-alcoholic), Nimbu pani, served warm or room temperature (non-alcoholic), and Spiced rum chai toddy.

Cozy night

A Guardian and a ThiefBook club questions, food & host guide

Megha Majumdar

Picked by

Oprah's Book Club

A cozy book club night for A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar. Includes 8 spoiler-free discussion questions, food and drink pairings, a playlist, and a host guide, ready to print and share.

A club that likes big ideas delivered softly, with blankets on the couch and seconds of dessert

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Megha Majumdar's slim, lyrical novel imagines a near-future India buckling under water scarcity, following ordinary people whose small acts of love and theft ripple outward. It is short enough to finish in a weekend and tender enough to talk about all night.

Why it works for clubs

Barely 250 pages, so everyone actually finishes it
Puts family loyalty and survival in direct tension, which people feel personally
Climate dystopia told at kitchen-table scale rather than through spectacle
Majumdar's prose is spare and quotable, easy to read aloud together

Themes & mood

Tender dystopia Family love Water and thirst Quiet urgency Caretaking

Browse all themes →

Reading level

Moderate

Pages

252

Warm-up questions

1 Before we talk about the book at all: where did you read it, and did you find yourself reaching for a glass of water more than usual?
2 The title gives you two words, guardian and thief. Which one did your heart gravitate toward as you started reading, and did that shift?

Digging in

1 This is a book about people caring for other people under pressure. Who in your own life has quietly guarded you, and did any scene here bring them to mind?
2 Majumdar writes about water the way other books write about money or love. Did reading it change how it feels to turn on your tap, even for a day?
3 The book is set in a near-future India, but it is full of very ordinary domestic texture: meals, errands, family logistics. Which of those small homey details comforted you most while the larger world was fraying?
4 When the story asked you to understand a choice you would normally judge, did you find yourself softening? What made that possible?

Going deep

1 By the end you have watched love ask people for things that cost them. Was there a moment where you felt tenderness and discomfort at the same time, and are you willing to sit in that out loud?
2 Majumdar keeps this very short. Thinking back over the whole arc, what did the brevity do to you emotionally, and what are you still carrying around days later?

On the table

Big pot of khichdi with ghee, lime, and papad

The classic Indian comfort food, one spoon of nourishment for a book about scarcity. Make it ahead, keep it warm, let people serve themselves twice.

Masala-buttered toast and chai biscuits on a shared platter

Snackable, unfussy tea-time food that echoes the book's domestic texture and needs almost no prep.

Warm sooji halwa in small bowls

Semolina, ghee, sugar, cardamom, done in fifteen minutes. A soft sweet landing after the heavier questions.

To sip

Endless pot of cardamom-ginger chai (non-alcoholic) No alcohol

The anchor of the night. Keep it on low and refill mugs constantly; warmth in the hand makes hard conversation easier.

Nimbu pani, served warm or room temperature (non-alcoholic) No alcohol

Lime, water, a pinch of salt and sugar. A gentle nod to how precious plain water becomes in this story.

Spiced rum chai toddy

A splash of dark rum in the chai for anyone who wants it, poured at the table so it stays optional and low-key.