The shelf / 7 Asian healing fiction recommendations for rainy days

Review of ‘Needle at the Bottom of the Sea: Bengali Tales from the Land of the Eighteen Tides’ (University of California Press, 2023) translated by Tony K. Stewart

In the blanks of muddy moonlight

The July wind brought in the scent of new beginnings

Magic boys and girls of Bangladesh, I love you.

Movements leave an indelible mark on the psyche of the people, and thus, the culture. As people are pushed to the brink of intolerance through oppressive measures,

Murshid’s passing marks the end of an era in literature

A walkway through the crystal-clear lies

Women in Translation Month is an annual celebration that toasts to women authors from around the globe who write in languages other than English

Sometime ago, a writer reached out to me with a request. His debut novel was being published later in the year and he was wondering if I would be open to reviewing it. I was aware of the book, having read it when it was still only a draft. The author was not someone I only knew, either, but a mentor who had supported my writing in many ways, even through monetary means. Refusing him, then, felt tantamount to betrayal. But I had to in the end, and though he understood, I still came out of the exchange feeling guilty of being unhelpful or, worse, ungrateful.

Review of 'Shamim Reza: Selected Poems' (ULAB Press, 2023)

The eight girls in Headshot clearly hope to escape the chaos of their lives in the ring.

Surely, it’s madness / it’s insanity—that he walked on

The silence forced upon the mass came on a sudden Thursday, as all means of communication were shut down abruptly overnight

You've ignited a tempest, / a crimson anger, / A defiance burning brighter than the summer's sun

How long does a corpse of a hero take to rot? 50 years or more? What about the corpses of martyrs? One week? 10 days? The 40-day mark to blow the candles of funeral fires?

The 309-page-long dystopian novel is an oppressive account of Eilish who tries to keep her family from falling apart as everything around her crumbles.

“Mr Nurul Amin couldn’t realise what bureaucracy had dragged him down to”. Remember how you needed to absolutely memorise this line with context and underlying meaning for answering comprehension-based questions? Well, that was to earn a couple of marks in exams. Turns out, it is also a 101 guide on how to earn a nation back.

During the 53 years of Bangladesh’s existence, its people have had to endure and take down two autocratic regimes; not only did they oust an autocrat in July 2024 through a mass uprising, but 1991 also saw the downfall of the autocrat, Hussain Muhammad Ershad, through another rebellion.

A list of books that might help you get started on the political climate of Bangladesh after 1971

the way there was complete silence when you lied for the first time. You opened your eyes