THE SHELF / 6 books that I read at the end of last year… I hated 5 of them

Whereabouts (Penguin India, 2021) is Jhumpa Lahiri’s third novel, published originally as Dove mi trovo (2018) in Italian and translated to English by the author herself, as she did with her work of nonfiction, In Other Words (2015).

Journalist Mohammad Al-Masum Molla, one of The Daily Star’s lead reporters of environmental, political, and human rights issues, sees the launch of his new book, Bhasan Char: Bastion in the Bay (Agamee Prokashoni, 2021), on August 25. 

South Asia Speaks, a literary mentorship programme for early career writers in South Asia, will open applications starting September 1 and closing on September 30, 2021.

Mohammad Nazim Uddin’s fictional offering ultimately hovers somewhere between pulp fiction and feminist commentary, but it fails to satisfy readers on either count.

Star Books Report

Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, in collaboration with Dhaka Lit Fest, North South University, and University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh, are hosting a series of author talks and readings from August to November 2021, with the aim of bringing German literature to Bangladeshi readers. 

Partition holds a strange place in our memories. For Bangladeshis, it may be far overshadowed by the more recent memory of the Liberation War, but across the Radcliffe line, it is recalled in families as a scar to forget, and in film as a reason to remember and to hate.

The novel tracks the childhood of Abdul Khaleq, which comes back to the man every sleepless, teary-eyed night. The chapters alternate between these recollections—taking residence in rural 1940s Kolkata—and the now, where schoolteacher Khaleq repeats a daily Sisyphean routine in newly christened-Bangladesh.

In Midnight's Borders (Westland Publications, 2021), author and photographer Suchitra Vijayan travels the 9,000 miles of India's borders to understand what Partition did to individual lives and communities, and how it continues to incite violence, displacement, prejudice, and trauma among those who live in the border regions.

Won-Pyung Sohn’s Almond (HarperVia, 2021), translated to English by Sandy Josun Lee, is a mesmerizing novel that captures the heart of a reader indelibly. Fifteen-year-old Yunjae cannot feel emotions due to alexithymia and is deemed a monster by others. Feelings such as love and empathy are mere words to him. At the age of six he sees a child gang-beaten to death by other children. More than a decade later, he watches a man stab his grandmother and hammer his mother into a comatose state, without batting an eyelid. At school he is tormented and at home, he becomes aware of an ever-growing void due to the absence of a loving family, but nothing can penetrate his heart. His lonely days pass in nonchalance until one day an unusual request from a stranger ends up connecting him with another ‘monster’ named Gon. 

With this list, we bring to attention the books recently released which deal with the politics and loss associated with this defining moment in history, in the form of both fiction and nonfiction. 

The women in Selina Hossain’s books are strong, because the author herself likes to be inspired by the reality around her.

Young adult (YA) literature can be great sources of comfort, but they also bring their fresh and unique perspectives on issues concerning identity, love, and friendship, themes that are universal and pertinent to all age-groups. Be it a sweet romance, or a gripping suspense, these stories cover it all. 

Daily Star Books is excited to be teaming up with Dhaka’s Bookcentric library for their monthly reading challenge, which encourages readers to read books following each month’s theme and write their own book reviews. Starting from August, reader reviews stand a chance to be published online on The Daily Star.

No one said earning a Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) would be easy. After all, art is anything but a linear process of creation. It zigzags through tumultuous periods of unease, delicate uncertainties, and perpetual anxieties, along with quite a mouthful of self-induced negativity.

Early in July of this year, thousands of Cubans took to the streets, pushed over the course of the pandemic to a breaking point by a persistent, two-year-long shortage of medicine and—most importantly—food. Cuban protesters marched and shouted for an end to the Communist regime, which has lasted over six decades.

Little has been written about Maharani Jindan Kaur, the youngest and last queen of the Sikh empire. Born as the humble daughter of the royal kennel keeper, Jindan saw a life of massive upheaval, living as the youngest queen to a regent and then ultimately a rebel and an exile.

Famed poet Helal Hafiz's physical condition has deteriorated. He has not been able to eat for the last two weeks.

Every emotion associated with pregnancy and childbirth is amplified by the impending arrival of the baby. There is exhilaration, stress, anticipation, fear, and preparation.

Chinmay Tumbe’s The Age of Pandemics (1817-1920): How They Shaped India and the World (HarperCollins, 2020) is a timely read, touching upon three historic pandemics and the effects they had on the culture, economy, and politics of the Indian subcontinent.