Beyond stereotypes: Rupert Grey’s ‘Homage to Bangladesh’

Rupert Grey, a descendant of Charles Grey and best known professionally as a leading libel and copyright lawyer stood against this statement. “If Bangladesh is a basket case,” Grey tells The Daily Star, “then it is so in the best possible way.” For him, the term collapses under the sheer vitality of the country. A single square metre of a Bangladeshi street, he argues, holds more energy than entire neighbourhoods in London. Where life in England often unfolds in rigid routines, Bangladesh thrives in spontaneity—where a hanging lighter at a tea stall can become a moment of shared choreography.
25 January 2026, 12:24 PM Books & Literature
FLASH FICTION / The rickshaw artist
24 January 2026, 01:52 AM Books & Literature
FLASH FICTION / Pirouette of a phoenix
24 January 2026, 01:48 AM Books & Literature
POETRY / Memories
24 January 2026, 01:36 AM Books & Literature

EDITORIAL / Why read?
22 January 2026, 00:00 AM Books & Literature
THE SHELF / 7 new books to look out for in 2026
22 January 2026, 00:00 AM Books & Literature

INTERVIEW / Reclaiming the unwritten: Kanika Gupta on colonialism, embodiment, and the art of remembering

Gupta shares her insights on reclaiming forgotten histories, reimagining myths, and connecting ancient narratives to contemporary ecological and social concerns.
22 November 2025, 11:51 AM Books & Literature
EVENT REPORT / An eco-critical look at Sultan: Reading the manuscript of ‘Sultan Er Krishi Jiggasha’
With the aid of Duniyadari Archive, Pavel Partha’s soon-to-be-published book Sultan Er Krishi Jiggasha is a new addition, which looks at Sultan’s work from an eco-critical perspective.
8 November 2025, 11:43 AM Books & Literature
NEWS REPORT / “Curious love letter”: Wole Soyinka responds after US cancels visa
He responded to the situation with grace, mentioning “I like people who have a sense of humour".
30 October 2025, 10:45 AM Books & Literature

The retrospection of Christopher Isherwood: A man exploring the heart of falling Berlin

Perhaps his most significant occupation was one as a diarist who took it upon himself to document his life as he moved through some of the most interesting scenes of human history.
16 July 2022, 13:48 PM

Netflix’s ‘Persuasion’ misunderstands Jane Austen’s novel entirely

The problem with Netflix’s adaptation of Persuasion is that it doesn't know what it wants to be.
15 July 2022, 15:01 PM

On books that became memories over Eid holidays

I remember Ma through her books as well, the little of her thoughts and ideas that she could share with the young me then.
15 July 2022, 08:12 AM

Getting a grip on the Bangladesh development narrative

The book poses a number of questions: which factors have contributed to Bangladesh’s growth?
14 July 2022, 08:13 AM

Poet Helal Hafiz hospitalised

Poet Helal Hafeez has been admitted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in the capital at 8 PM on Wednesday.
13 July 2022, 17:56 PM

Five of BTS leader RM’s favourite books

RM, leader of the popular K-pop band BTS, is not only a musician but also an avid reader.
13 July 2022, 11:42 AM

You are what you eat in Mashiul Alam's "The Meat Market" (trans. Shabnam Nadiya)

It is a story of discomfort. Of calm, ruthless violence. A drag-your-hands-down-to-uncover-your-eyes gaze at the oblivion we practice not only during Eid holidays, but on any regular day in Bangladesh. 
11 July 2022, 13:21 PM

What’s stopping us from reading books?

How did I get here? Can I unleash the wee bookworm that could devour books back? 
9 July 2022, 15:27 PM

Monica Ali's 'Love Marriage': A tale of love across two cultures

Love Marriage (Simon & Schuster, 2022), Monica Ali’s latest novel, is set in contemporary London, and the city, along with its concurrent glory, glides in the background as a couple endeavours to bring their families together for their wedding.
6 July 2022, 18:00 PM

A history of this subcontinent, woven in jute

The book reveals how in mid-19th century colonial East Bengal jute first emerged “as a global commodity”
6 July 2022, 18:00 PM

Brecht’s poetry presented in delicious Bangla

“The process of translation is a rigorous delight. But the product? As a translator, you also always carry with you an anxious awareness of the ways in which you have fallen short. You have seen it, that, at least, you hope; but you have failed to carry it over.” - Tom Kuhn.
6 July 2022, 18:00 PM

Absurdism, reality, and Franz Kafka

Kafka’s world is chaotic. His stories, no matter how bizarre their plots, are always ones that we can connect to. 
3 July 2022, 11:09 AM

Rubaiya Murshed’s ‘Nobody’s Children’: UPL publishes book on struggles of street children

 Nobody’s Children is a collection of “ten real stories” of homeless children living without any of the support or privilege we take for granted.
2 July 2022, 13:13 PM

Durian Sukegawa’s ‘Sweet Bean Paste’: On second chances and the plight of leprosy patients

Sweet Bean Paste (2013) by Durian Sukegawa is a tale of friendship and redemption in an unforgiving society.
30 June 2022, 10:43 AM

Sally Rooney's conversations on suppressed female hysteria: A review of the adaptation

Sally Rooney is well known for transforming her novels into visually pleasing and satisfactory adaptations.
26 June 2022, 15:08 PM

Sabyasachi Hazra’s unique perspective on Bangla typography

The exhibition ends today (June 25) at 9 pm BST.
25 June 2022, 08:29 AM

From Feni to New Zealand: Trinkets of a life lived

Mastura's penning is sincere. She crafts the details like a watchsmith, a representation of which could be found in the very first piece of the book, named "Feni".
22 June 2022, 18:00 PM

Abdulrazak Gurnah’s ‘Desertion’: The politics of leaving

Zanzibar-born (now Tanzania) writer Abdulrazak Gurnah was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2021. One of his 10 published novels, Desertion (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005) is about—like many of his other works—colonialism, racism, cultural and religious biases, migration, and of course, desertion.
22 June 2022, 18:00 PM

Manash Ghosh's ' Bangladesh War': Dispatches of independence

Bangladesh War resembles a journalist's diary. Ghosh's tone is neither that of a critic nor a judge.
22 June 2022, 18:00 PM

Five books I would sell my soul to re-read for the first time

Honeyman gives Eleanor a personality beyond her mental illness.
20 June 2022, 12:09 PM