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 […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Politics' Category
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 »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 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: ‘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: ‘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 […]
Read the rest of this entry »Thai Teens’ pregnancy rate appears to be uncontrollable, feeding Bangkok’s bar scene
In our tours around Bangkok’s night spots, we here at WoWasis has noted that seemingly a majority of the city’s bar girls are young mothers. In an article published by Reuters this week, the situation appears to be accelerating. The article reports that “even though the overall birthrate is dropping, teen births are on the […]
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