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 »Archive for the 'Culture & History' Category
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 […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Saraswati Park’ by Anjali Joseph, a novel from India
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 […]
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 […]
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