by Tahmima Anam
All in all, this book was just okay-to-good. It tells the story of an apolitical widow who is caught up in the 1971 Bangledesh War of Independence, and of her reluctant contributions as her son and daughter join the resistance. And it really is her story, as the author shows us her grief and fear an...
I have to give a special shout out thank you to my GR friend Jalilah because if she had invited me to join the Middle Eastern reading group, I wouldn’t have read this wonderful book. The novel follows Reena who lives in what today is Bangladesh. When the book opens Reena has just lo...
I...don't know how I feel about this story.On one hand, it's a soft, quiet story of rebellion and perseverance and change while every day life is going on. On the other, it's cloying and too foreign for my brain - not because it takes place in Bangladesh or because it's about a rebellion I know litt...
Rather than depicting the events of Bangladesh independence, i.e. the split between East and West Pakistan in 1971, the central theme is a mother’s efforts to save her children. There is too little history. On the other hand, I just finished another book concerning how war wreaks havoc in people’s l...
I visited Bangladesh over twenty years ago, when my mother lived there for several years. From all that we see of it in the news over here in Canada, you would think the country is in a perpetual state of flood/disaster/famine. So the first thing I thought on arrival was how colourful it was. Blu...
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, having known nothing at all about the civil war between Bangladesh and Pakistan. I thought the main character believable and sympathetic, writing not too bad, veered on the sentimental at times, but most of all I loved the relationship between mother and d...
Dear Husband, I lost our children today.About time I addressed this so eyes down, here we go...Two in one week where I have to 'fess up and say 'nope' not my thing. This has high star rating and I'm willing to post it on to willing hands.
Truly a pleasure to read. I looked forward to my time with it every day. I could smell the greasy food, feel the oppressive heat, hear the endlessly cascading rain, and see the red and white flowers Rehana grows in her garden. The story takes place during the nine-month-long Bangladesh War of Inde...
This novel tells of the transition from a two part Pakistan to a separate Bangladesh through the lives of the central family. In 1958, Rehana is the young widow of Iqbal Haque, an insurance guy who died too young. A court decreed that her children Maya and Sohail be raised by his brother, Faiz Chach...
Tahmima Anam is one of those rare authors who can write about normal, everyday events and have them be utterly compelling. I wasn't sure from the blurb if I would like this book, but was sucked in from the first page and overall really enjoyed it. A Golden Age is the story of a family--told from the...
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