Podcast Summary: NPR’s Book of the Day

Episode Title: 'How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder' is a dark new novel about sisterhood
Host: Andrew Limbong
Interviewed By: Asia Roscoe
Guest: Nina McConaughey (Author)
Date: February 4, 2026

Overview

This episode centers on Nina McConaughey’s debut novel, How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder, a dark and moving story about two biracial sisters grappling with trauma, identity, and the indelible bond of sisterhood. The discussion explores how the book weaves together themes of postcolonial legacy, cultural dislocation, familial secrets, and the complexities of survivorhood, all inspired by McConaughey’s lived experiences and her desire to write a “sister book” in the tradition of Middlemarch and The Color Purple.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Genesis and Setting of the Novel

• The Story Starts in Small-Town Wyoming:
  • The protagonists, sisters Georgie Iyer Creel (12) and Agatha Krishna (14), navigate an isolating childhood as among the only Indian-American kids in Marley, Wyoming.
  • Their father is a petroleum geologist; their Indian-born mother faces the challenge of integrating into this predominantly white, rural community.

  “As many people know, Wyoming is dependent on the oil and gas and energy industry. ... For Georgie and Agatha Krishna's mother, it's a difficult transition because ... they're like some of the only brown people in town.” (Nina McConaughey, 03:00)

2. Author’s Personal Connection & Motivation

• Based on Lived Experience:
  • McConaughey grew up biracial in Wyoming, often being among the only Indian families in town, echoing the novel’s setting and circumstances.
  • She wanted to subvert expectations of “Indian stories” by addressing cultural tropes up front and then moving beyond them.

  “As a biracial author... a lot of people want a certain story from you when you're a writer of color. I think I really wanted to subvert that when I wrote this book.” (Nina McConaughey, 04:06)

3. Identity and ‘Splitting’

• Internal Splits and Colonial Legacies:
  • The motif of being ‘split’—between Indian and American identity, innocence and trauma—is pervasive.
  • McConaughey relates it to both personal and historical schisms, such as the Partition of India and Pakistan.

  “My mom was a child when India and Pakistan split. That was the first split I was thinking about. ... There's splits of girlhood into womanhood. ... That split of being in the middle, not really being Indian, not really being white.” (McConaughey, 05:19)

  • The protagonist Georgie also experiences dissociation (“splitting from herself”) during trauma.

4. The Title & Theme: Postcolonialism and Extraction

• Parallels Between Colonialism and Abuse:
  • McConaughey describes colonialism as “extraction” — taking resources, agency, and identity — and likens it to the girls’ lack of control during abuse.
  • The sisters’ attempted revenge is cast as a form of “fighting back” against these forces.

  “At its heart, what is colonialism? ... It’s extraction. ... Then I thought about these girls and the ways that their bodies ... are not in control of them with the abuse.” (McConaughey, 06:19)

5. Nuanced View of Colonial Legacy

• Ambivalence and Cultural Hybridity:
  • The family’s relationship with colonial Britain is complicated: anger at the British is mixed with nostalgia (the girls’ mother is an Anglophile, loves royal weddings).

  “I wanted to show the complications of colonialism, that it isn’t always as easy in black and white as it sometimes seems.” (McConaughey, 07:26)

  • This lays the groundwork for the novel’s nuanced engagement with postcolonial themes.

6. Abuse and Family Silence

• Why the Sisters Keep Silent:
  • Complexity, shame, love, and fear of “splitting” their family prevent the girls from revealing their uncle’s abuse, mirroring real-life dynamics in abusive families.

  “…they know what will happen if they tell—that the family will be split apart. ... On some level, they also love their uncle. ... That makes things incredibly complicated.” (McConaughey, 08:02)

7. Aftermath and the Bond of Sisterhood

• How Secret and Guilt Shape the Sisters’ Lives:
  • The attempted murder (by antifreeze poisoning, which they delay for a Van Halen concert) ends the abuse but fractures their relationship.
  • The novel ultimately focuses on how the sisters struggle with guilt and trauma while trying to “find their way back to each other,” drawing thematically from classic sister novels.

  “This really isn’t a book about abuse and murder. It’s really a book about sisterhood and how sisters bond and stay together ... after you’ve done this sort of unspeakable act.” (McConaughey, 08:48)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Subverting Expectations:

  “I wanted to just say those things so I could tell the story in the way I wanted to tell it.” (McConaughey, 04:06)

• On Internal Division:

  “That split of being in the middle, of not really being Indian, not really being white.” (McConaughey, 05:19)

• On Colonial Legacy:

  “I wanted... to show the complications of colonialism, that it isn’t always as easy in black and white as it sometimes seems.” (McConaughey, 07:26)

• On Sisterhood:

  “So many books that have meant so much to me have been books with sisters. ... I just wanted to look back and make my own sister book.” (McConaughey, 08:48)

Key Timestamps

• 01:26–02:20: Opening passage from the novel, showing the sisters blaming everything—from Reagan to the Olympics—for their situation.
• 03:00–03:25: McConaughey explains the family’s move to Wyoming and its challenges.
• 04:06–04:41: Discussion of subverting cultural stereotypes and expectations.
• 05:19–06:03: The motif of “splitting” in identity and trauma, influenced by Partition and personal experience.
• 06:19–06:54: Linking colonialism to the girls’ abuse and lack of agency.
• 07:18–07:50: Complicated feelings about colonial legacy and cultural hybridity.
• 08:02–08:31: On the family silence around abuse and its emotional complexity.
• 08:48–09:28: The aftermath: how guilt and secrecy impact sisterhood and healing.

Conclusion

Nina McConaughey’s How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder is as much about the lasting scars of colonialism and trauma as it is a tribute to the deep, sometimes fraught ties of sisterhood. The novel offers a nuanced, layered exploration of identity, “splitting,” and resilience, with a narrative voice that both acknowledges and resists expectations of what a story by and about Indian Americans can be.

Guest: Nina McConaughey
Hosted/Interviewed by: Asia Roscoe
Recommended for listeners interested in:

• Literary fiction
• Postcolonial studies
• Stories about sisterhood
• Indian American and biracial identity
• Family secrecy and trauma