Given that the nation of Bangladesh changed from a secular state to an Islamic country via a constitutional amendment, it’s easy to see why this book has been banned. Taslima Nasrin’s Lajja (Shame) (1993, ISBN 978-014-024-0511) is a strong indictment of the Islamic movement that made pariahs of its Hindu population. This is historical novel […]
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WoWasis book review: ‘Galpa: Short Stories by Women from Bangladesh’
Bangladesh can boast a number of exceptional women writers, and Galpa: Short Stories by Women from Bangladesh (2012, ISBN 984-32-2931-2), edited by Firdous Azim and Niaz Zaman, contains short stories written by 27 of them. As with any collection of this size (273 pages), the work can sometimes be spotty, but the editors noted the […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis crime review: Airport Baggage Theft Scam, the Booster Bag
Here at WoWasis, we’re pretty careful about scams in general, and one of our favorites is the booster bag, which is a device that, when placed over your own bag sitting on the ground, allows the perpetrator to carry off your bag before you know it. The perp is usually well-dressed, the last person you’d […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Killing the Water,’ Bangladeshi stories by Mahmud Rahman
Bangladeshi writer Mahmud Rahman knows his Boston. And Providence and Oakland as well. He’s lived in all three places, got a writing degree from Oakland’s Mills College, and in his book Killing the Water (2010, ISBN 978-014-306-5036), he explores the somewhat murky, yet romantic and fascinating world of a Bangladeshi trying to make his way […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘New Age Short Stories,’ Bangladeshi fiction edited by Niaz Zaman
Niaz Zaman is a formidable editor. In her collection New Age Short Stories (2006, ISBN 984-8715-02-9), she’s compiled twenty-seven stories over 237 pages. Nearly all of them are top-notch, and they all are compelling. These aren’t ‘New Age’ in the western sense: New Age is the name of the Bangladeshi newspaper that originally printed these […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Short Takes: Stories from Bangladesh’ by Tanvir Malik
Like a cranky Bangladeshi locomotive, author Tanvir Malik’s Short Takes: Stories from Bangladesh (2010, ISBN 978-93-80154-40-4) takes a while to get started and gain momentum. Here at WoWasis, we found that this collection of eighteen stories over 136 pages doesn’t get its sea legs until the fourth story, Veil Over Eyes, takes hold on page […]
Read the rest of this entry »Pa Farang on My old Bangkok haunts are going away. What’s happening?
The Good Manner: Advice on Thailand from WoWasis’ Pa Farang This week’s dilemma: My old Bangkok haunts are going away. What’s happening? Dear Pa Farang, Hi there–greetings from the US. I used to live in Bangkok 1989-1990 on Soi Polo off of Wireless Road. There was a fantastic streetside restaurant there that did fantastic grilled […]
Read the rest of this entry »Farewell to Bangkok’s Washington Square by Dean Barrett
One of Bangkok’s most treasured entertainment zones, Washington Square on Sukhumvit, has been plowed under. It was a haven for GIs, spooks, writers, oil workers, and drinkers. Bangkok author Dean Barrett has written a fine tribute to Washington Square, reprinted here as it appeared in the April, 2013 issue of After Dark Magazine. Molly […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Bangladesh: Six Decades (1947-2007)’
We here at WoWasis find the statistics to be chilling. In the Bangladesh Liberation War, an estimated 3 million people were killed, 200,000 women raped. Pakistani troops kept comfort women, many taken from universities. These women gave birth to an estimated 10,000 babies, and eventually Bangladeshi President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman suggested that he be listed […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book shopping review: a superior English bookshop at Dhaka’s international airport in Bangladesh
There’s not a lot to do for international travelers in the departure area of the Hazrat Shahjalal airport in Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka. On top of that, the restrooms are crappy, literally. Most cow pastures are cleaner. This is amazing, given that international flyers, who have the money for plane tickets, presumably, would have learned […]
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