Sanjana has killed her husband. She had not meant to kill him, but the odds never seem to be in her favour. Desperately trying to grasp the reality of her situation, she flees the crime scene, leaving her family, friends and life behind.

The craze that once prevailed in academia over postcolonialism no longer seems to hover around there anymore.

Dense textbooks with words more twisted than the shapes my lips could contort themselves into—for the longest time, my perception of non-fiction didn’t deviate from this singular image.

Reading this book was uncomfortable, like a car crash waiting to happen, it was hard to read and even harder to put down.

Shahaduz Zaman is a familiar face in Bangladeshi literature, whose literary career spans decades of fruitful work. He regularly writes columns for Bangla newspapers, has written a few notable biographical fiction, such as Ekjon Komolalebu (Prothoma, 2017), based around the life of Jibanananda Das, and has garnered some duly needed appreciation for ethnographic work on the history of medicine during the liberation war.

Some among us might have wondered what it feels like to hold a lit bomb between our palms. One that will go off inevitably yet its spark, heat, force, weight, and pulsating nature are so fascinating that we are unable to put it down or look away, all the while knowing at the end of the wick we too will be destroyed—a chosen death, a voluntary annihilation.

The title of the first of Professor Rehman Sobhan’s two-part memoir suggests that it is about his “years of fulfilment”; the subject matter of its sequel therefore would be about the “untranquil” years that followed.

As we close the curtains on the first month of the new year and step into the second, here at Star Books and Literature,  we are thinking back on the year we had.

It’s been a while since I had been meaning to get my hands on a book by Shashi Tharoor, and when my sister asked me what she could get me from Kolkata, I immediately said I’d love to read a book by the renowned Indian author, politician, columnist, and critic.

My introduction to the Bangla translation of Japanese books happened during my visit to Baatighar Chittagong. It was there that I encountered the Bangla translations of works by one of my favourite Japanese writers, Haruki Murakami, back in 2021. Then last year, I found myself enchanted with the promise of Morisaki Boighorer Dinguli (Abosar Prokashona, 2023); the allure of the black edition of the book boasting ebony pages and stunning artwork had me yearning for the book months before its scheduled release.

When I read the title of Charlotte Stroud’s article “The curse of the cool girl novelist” and the accompanying description of said type of novelist, I had a solid image of what she was referring to. Stroud describes “cool girl novelists” as “depressed and alienated”, “incurably downcast”, and “terminally sad”. It had similarities with “sad girl” literature, a supposedly new genre captivating readers and publishers alike.

During the mid 20th century, when female wordsmiths somewhat flourished with their newly published works, they were still suppressed under the dominance of male authors.

Jhumpa Lahiri has always been the rare author whose prowess in the art of the short-story far surpassed her novelistic talents.

We highlight seven nonfictional books that allow us to understand the history and discourse around the struggle better.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) broke a four-day rising streak today when its turnover also experienced a drop.

Cohen’s book confidently deals with the comedy of the Jewish family.

So many words have been used to describe this nation in the last 50 years. Started from a bottomless basket, and along the way we’ve been called resilient, passionate, corrupt, greedy, full of warmth.

The South-African novelist and playwright had been previously shortlisted for his books, The Good Doctor (2003) and In A Strange Room (2010) in their respective years, the former of which received the Commonwealth Writers Prize.

I had heard about You from the moment I stepped into the world of bookstagramming. I’m ashamed to say, though, that I didn’t pick it up before watching the first season of the chilling yet hilarious (in my humble opinion) show, despite my friends raving about it.

Mayurpankhi, a children’s book publishing house based in Bangladesh, was invited as a guest this year at the Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair), one of the largest and most important international events in the publishing industry. It serves as a place for thousands of publishing industry professionals to come together and share their ideas, negotiate international book rights, and discuss new trade innovations.