From the Bookshelf of The Read Around The World Book Club…

A Golden Age

Tahmima Anam

Start date: January 1, 2018

Finish date: January 31, 2018

Discussion: January 2018 - Bangladesh

Why we're reading this: Bangladesh
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Showing 2 of 4 topics — 53 comments total

January 2018 - Bangladesh

And the rest
By Melanie · 24 posts · 40 views

last updated Jan 28, 2018 05:22PM

First part - Up to April
By Melanie · 15 posts · 44 views

last updated Jan 20, 2018 03:04PM

What Members Thought

Jan 20, 2018 Shawn Mooney (Shawn Breathes Books) marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: did-not-finish-2018

This would’ve been my first novel from this part of the world, and I was so interested to try it. Unfortunately, the less-than-stellar prose and the paper-thin characters prevented me from getting pulled in. I bailed just short of the 30% mark. I hope to find another, better novel from and about Bangladesh, and, yes, I might try a later one from Tahmima Anam.

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Jan 10, 2018 Britta Böhler rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, 2018bw-read, femlit, fiction, fiction-literay, debuts, poc

Fascinating read about a family amidst the Bangladesh independence war in 1971. The story was engaging and I also learned a lot about the country's history. ...more

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Jan 23, 2018 Asha Jyothi rated it liked it · review of another edition

A good read with some beautifully descriptive writing, of the place and of the climate, as well as of the more homely things that make up a significant portion of the book. It would have been more engaging with a more detailed description of the war situation, which is largely narrated as headlines or major dates.

Rehana as a character may probably remind subcontinental readers of their own mothers-especially in her deep empathy for, and simultaneous 'disinterest' (for want of a better way to de A good read with some beautifully descriptive writing, of the place and of the climate, as well as of the more homely things that make up a significant portion of the book. It would have been more engaging with a more detailed description of the war situation, which is largely narrated as headlines or major dates.

Rehana as a character may probably remind subcontinental readers of their own mothers-especially in her deep empathy for, and simultaneous 'disinterest' (for want of a better way to describe it) in the refugee situation, and in her dedication to her children. The romance angle in the novel unfortunately seemed a little forced, tending only to pave the way for the final sacrifice. The children, seen primarily through Rehana's eyes, are written more sketchily.

Spoilers

From a historical and subcontinental viewpoint, the case of Bangladesh is very interesting, given how it was first formed on religious grounds as East Pakistan in the throes of the Partition in 1947, and then won its independence from Pakistan, with India fighting its cause, on the strength of linguistic and cultural sentiment, and difference. Anam's narration of the gradual changes seeping into the more liberal practice of Islam in the country was interesting so much so that I ironically can't imagine Sheikh Hasina without the sari covering her head today. Especially interesting for me was the brief depiction of the Bihari, therefore Urdu speaking, butcher who belongs to a sidelined community in a country that prides itself on its Bangla heritage, and who voluntarily or reluctantly allies with the Pakistani army to Rehana's disdain. There is a particular hierarchy of power organized along sociolinguistic lines within the region itself, with the Muslim, and then, Hindu natives of Bengal being closer to the top. The Pakistani administration, and subsequent military intervention, both inverts and extends this paradigm by heightening religious intolerance and suppressing linguistic identity, which then allows the Muslim, Urdu speaking Bihari to briefly emerge as the privileged citizen. The question of a 'legitimate' form of nationalism and national identity is also complicated in that sense. It also resonates with the way Biharis and Bengalis are perceived in India, with cultural identity overshadowing religion in determining status between the two communities in general. Religion does play a role in determining power within and between linguistic communities as well-the upper caste Bengali Hindu is still more privileged than a Bengali Muslim etc.(the Bihari Muslim again being closer to the bottom, all other things being equal!)- but the significance of a particular marker of identity is also determined by specific crises or contexts and intersects with other hierarchies.

What struck me as fundamentally tragic however, is just this ridiculous mentality that seeks to determine a persons's citizenship on the basis of religion rather than their lived reality and intimacy with their country. In this case, Rehana's brother-in-law, Faiz, makes a snide remark about how Hindus never really considered Bangladesh to be their true home when Rehana informs him of the departure of her Hindu tenants, completely and deliberately ignoring the fact that the Pakistani military itself orchestrated a mass campaign of ethnic cleansing against Hindus, forcing them to flee their homeland! It is the same in India, with Muslims constantly having to prove their allegiance to the country despite systemic discrimination, and it is the same here. ...more

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Jan 23, 2018 Emmy B rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Rehana is a mother and that is a basic fact in this novel. At the beginning of the novel Rehana, as a young woman in East Pakistan, after loosing her husband, loses her children – Sohail and Maya; they go to live with her husbands family because she can't provide for them, or so is she told. She does everything to get them back and after she got them she prepares a party every year on that day to celebrate their return to her. In the morning in 1971 Rehana is preparing that years party but they ...more

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Apr 02, 2018 Em rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2018

After reading The Good Muslim, it was obvious that I should have started with A Golden Age, which is the beginning of the conversation. I didn't realize it was part of a trilogy. The 2nd book of the trilogy makes much more sense following A Golden Age.
Rehana was my favourite character in the 2nd book. This book is primarily concerned with Rehana's experiences against the backdrop of the Bangladesh War for Independence. She's is still my favourite. She is a woman to be reckoned with. ...more

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Jan 14, 2018 Beatrizmallow rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: female-writers, libros-en-español

Me alegro de haber leído este libro que me ha enseñado sobre un momento histórico del que no conocía nada. Los personajes no me han convencido de todo y en la traducción se echa de menos alguna nota al pie que aclare el uso de las expresiones coloquiales que permanecen en el idioma original.

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Jun 25, 2021 Mara rated it it was ok · review of another edition

People like this book because it's good? Or because they know nothing about The Bangladesh Liberation War, and they get all excited to learn something new? for me, this book is more about motherhood (a very traditional one) than it is about the war. The struggle, the events and the violence feel completely trivial. Characters are flat, stereotypical and they seem to eat A LOT, I mean, for a war... It's just very oversimplistic, in my opinion. ...more

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Apr 20, 2018 Leslie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: around-the-world-2018

I loved this recounting of such a tragic time in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh's history. The author's lyrical prose transports you in time and place. ...more

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