A Golden Age

Product Information

Anam grew up in Bangladesh and she has drawn on the stories told her by her parents who were both freedom fighters in Bangladesh’s War of Independence. This led the author to be inspired to write about everyday citizens' war experience and small, but meaningful ways they can become revolutionaries. [7] Historical context [ edit ] Map of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh Anam, Tahmima (9 April 2019). " 'For five years we dreaded every meal': my infant son's struggle with food". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 7 January 2020. A Golden Age বা সোনাঝরা দিন?? একাত্তরের দুর্বিসহ দিনগুলোকে আমি কোনোভাবেই সোনাঝরা দিন হিসেবে মেনে নিতে পারিনা!

But none of the guests at Rehana's party can foresee what will happen in the days and months ahead. For this is 1971 in East Pakistan, a country on the brink of war. And this family's life is about to change forever. And so Tahmima Anam's grandmother provided food and shelter for the young fighters. While the young men went off on missions, Shaheen Anam stayed home. The atmosphere in the house, she says, was more exhilarating than terrifying. But one morning, the Pakistani army came, looking for her brother. This story about the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan takes place from very shortly before the civil war (with a completely unnecessary prologue set 20 years before) until the day before the war is over. It is the story of a family, of a mother who had given up her children (but not really) and of her children's political activities for Truly a pleasure to read. I looked forward to my time with it every day. I could smell the greasy food, feel the oppressive heat, hear the endlessly cascading rain, and see the red and white flowers Rehana grows in her garden.

Books

I did lots of research for my first book which carried over to the second”, Anam has stated, “I prefer to ask people who were there about their experiences; I don’t like to use books, unless they’re memoirs or testimonials. I ask people the little details, about what they wore, what brand of cigarettes they smoked, what music they listened to, maybe the car they drove. And then I try and forget the research, so the reader doesn’t ever feel like I’ve just given a history lesson. I want the research to be in there, to be accurate, but not felt in a palpable way. I think the only time you notice research is when the illusion of the past gets broken, and I’m trying to avoid that.” ( Bookslut, July 2011)

Along the way we get vivid glimpses of life in Bangladesh before the War of Independence, and of Benghal and Calcutta before Partition. Food features prominently, which always makes me happy: crispy samosas, dal, biryani cooked all day. Taste and fragrance and memory merge in word-pictures of the places Rehana has known: the smell of salt in the Karachi streets and the burned taste of kababs on Clifton Beach; the sweet Dhaka air in a garden filled with jasmine or ripening mangoes; and the heavy first drops of the monsoon rain that a child curves his face up to catch on his tongue. Is Bangladesh turning fundamentalist?' – and other questions I no longer wish to answer". The Guardian.The author was inspired by her family's personal experience of their role in the Bangladesh Independence war. She grew up listening to the stories of her grandmother harboring freedom fighters and hiding guns and weapons in the family garden. [6] Then, I did not understand, Why maya, who is a member of communist party and a supporter of Mukti Judha did not want to shelter Major!! Sudden mood change due to hormonal imbalance? Trained at Harvard as a professional anthropologist, Tahmima Anam’s historical novels about Bangladesh are works of intensive research and inspired ventriloquism.

Who is this man? Is he from Pakistan or outer planet? Please, send him a copy of ‘The days of 1971’ by Jahanara Imam. a b Gorra, Michael (27 January 2008). "Birth of a Nation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2018-12-16. The child of a diplomat, Tahmima Anam grew up far away from her native Bangladesh. But all her life, she heard about that country's war for independence — which took place before she was born — from her Bengali parents and their friends. And when she decided to write a novel about Bangladesh, Anam says, she couldn't imagine writing about anything else except the war. Burton-Hill, Clemency (21 April 2007). "Review: A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 2018-12-16. Rheannon, Francesca (21 September 2011). "Tahmima Anam: The Good Muslim & A Golden Age". Writer's Voice . Retrieved 2018-12-17.

Search members.

So it was good to read a novel written by a Bengali, and feel like she has shown me a personal portrait of a family living through, and taking part in, the country's tumultuous birth in 1971. This was Tahmima Anam's first novel, and it won a Commonwealth Prize for best first book. It is an old-fashioned yarn of family love triumphing over adversity, then being further tried by the murky oppressions of rebellion and war, with a good twist to the ending.