Homosexuality is a theme we here at WoWasis have yet to encounter while reading through the Bangladeshi fiction we’ve been reviewing recently, but it strongly resonates through Indian writer Anjali Joseph’s first novel, Saraswati Park (2010, ISBN 978-93-5029-061-3). Set in Bombay (Mumbai), the activities primarily concern Ashish, a young student whose emerging gay consciousness involves […]
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WoWasis travel review: Railroads in Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Railway, a principle transportation agency of the country, is a Government – owned and Government – managed organization. It covers a length of 2,855 route kilometers, employing a total of 34,168 regular employees. Watch a video of a Bangladeshi locomotive at the station in Rajshahi. The Bangladesh Railway website isn’t well-developed, but does […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bachelor in Bangkok: Khun Lee on Songkran, the Thai New Year Festival, and the jealousy of Thai women
I managed to survive Songkran, the Thai New Year, and lived to love another day at least. Writer Dean Barrett chose to flee the country at water works time, as Songkran is the period that everyone douses everyone else with water, regardless of age, sex, national origin or whether or not you are dressed for […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Vintage Short Fiction from Bangladesh’ by Sagar Chaudhury
Editor and translator Sagar Chaudhury’s Vintage Short Fiction from Bangladesh (2008, ISBN 984 05 1790 2) is a real labor of love, encompassing thirteen stories in a 140 page book. In addition to the stories, there is a four page glossary that will assist the western reader in understanding many of the terms used by […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘From the Delta: English fiction from Bangladesh’ by Niaz Zaman
Anyone desiring to get a good feel for the breadth of fiction writing in Bangladesh would do well to pick up a copy of the outstanding anthology From the Delta: English fiction from Bangladesh (2010, ISBN 978 984 506 004 2), edited by Niaz Zaman. This is one of the best fiction collections we here […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Invisible Lines’ by Ruby Zaman from Bangladesh
The setting is revolutionary-era Bangladesh, and political players include Pakistan, India, Bengali revolutionaries, and perhaps the central focus of the book, the Biharis. Bangladeshi author Ruby Zaman’s Invisible Lines (2011, ISBN 978-93-5029-071-2) weaves a thrilling tapestry of intrigue, war, and romance in this thriller, but Western audiences are advised to consult an encyclopaedia to understand […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘The Good Muslim’ by Tahmima Anam from Bangladesh
Bangladeshi author Tahmima Anam’s novel, The Good Muslim (2011, ISBN 978 984 8765 90 6) isn’t all that easy to suss out, if you’re neither conversant in Islamic theory nor recent Bangladeshi history. A little background information, such as an understanding of the struggle that carved Bangladesh out of East Pakistan, is helpful. So is […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Revisiting Han Suyin’s ‘A Many-Splendored Thing’
Han Suyin died in November of 2012 at the age of 95. Her book A Many-Splendored Thing, published in 1952, was the basis for the film starring William Holden and Jennifer Jones, and has influenced numerous writers. A recently written book, Janice Y.K. Lee’s The Piano Teacher, is probably one of those. So we went […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Wave,’ a tsunami memoir by Sri Lanka’s Sonali Deraniyagala
Sri Lankan Author Sonali Deraniyagala lost her husband, two sons, and mother and father in the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami, which killed an estimated 230,000 people. Her story is told in Wave (2013, ISBN 978-0-307-96269-0). It’s a story of tragedy, a personal loss reiterated, emphasized, and relentlessly pounded into the reader on virtually every page. […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘The Piano Teacher’ by Janice Y.K. Lee
After finishing Janice Y.K. Lee’s ‘The Piano Teacher’ (2009, ISBN 978-0-14-311653-0), we went scurrying back to Han Suyin’s landmark novel of 1952, A Many-Splendored Thing. There are similarities, to be sure. The setting for both is pre-1955 Hong Kong, and they are essentially love stories that revolve around the unsettled military, political, and social situation […]
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