A Golden Age

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Then, on the 25th day of March, the Pakistani army moved in and began indiscriminately killing protestors. In March 2007, Anam's first novel, A Golden Age, was published by John Murray. Inspired by her parents, she set the novel during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It was finalist for the Costa First Novel Award. The novel tells the story of a woman named Rehana Haque during the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971. [10] She had also researched the war during her post-graduation career. For the benefit of her research, she stayed in Bangladesh for two years and interviewed hundreds of war fighters, known as shongram fighers. She also worked on the set of Tareque and Catherine Masud’s critically acclaimed film Matir Moina ( The Clay Bird), which reflects the events during that war. [11] Throughout the book Rehana struggles with her feelings toward Bangladesh. [9] Rehana grew up in calucutta and then left to west Pakistan after her marriage and her native tongue became Urdu, Rehana does not feel the same sense of nationalism as her children. [1] The book opens with a description of a party that Rehana was hosting. The main item was biriyani and as a sweet dish there was jilapi at the end. Wait, Jilapi! Why? In my whole life I have never seen that jilapi is given as the sweet dish. Have you?

This story is set during the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971. It revolved around one family; a single mother, her son and daughter, and how their life is affected by the war. The story is presented through the eyes of Rehana, the mother. Rehana is for sure one of the strongest female characters I have read. Her relationship with her neighbours, her children and the house is portrayed beautifully. Rehana, by nature, is a very modest woman who herself wouldn't have thought of being so strong. Situations persuaded her to be reliable. All she did was for her kids - either to make them happy or to make them alive. Throughout the story, Rehana does sympathise with the emotion of independent Bangladesh, but she did end up being a big part of the movement. This was not because Rehana wanted to do it for her country, she did the things she did, for her kids. Trained at Harvard as a professional anthropologist, Tahmima Anam’s historical novels about Bangladesh are works of intensive research and inspired ventriloquism. While Reena herself is lukewarm on the question of independence, at least at first, her children are supportive, and Reena lives for her children. In many ways, Reena is an everywoman as she struggles to keep what remains of her family together and alive. Reena’s struggle is that of everywoman. She is not politically active, she is not a superwoman. She is what she is and that is it. And therein lays the charm of the story. Bergquist, Karin (2007). "Mahfuz Anam". Culturebase. Archived from the original on 3 February 2007 . Retrieved 31 January 2007. Outspoken editor from Bangladesh

Born in Bangladesh, Tahmima Anam grew up mostly in the West. But she wove family stories of her native land and its independence war into the fabric of her novel A Golden Age. At the age of 2, she moved to Paris when her parents joined UNESCO as employees. She grew up in Paris, New York, and Bangkok, learning the story of the Bangladesh Liberation War from her family since her father fought in the war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahmima...

At the same night Mrs. Chowdhury’s dog Romeo got dead out of fear. In ‘The days of 1971,’ Imam’s dog also died that night. What a Dog-to-Dog resemblance! Book Tour is a Web feature and podcast. Each week, we present leading authors of fiction and nonfiction as they read from and discuss their work. Tahmima Anam ( Bengali: তাহমিমা আনাম; born 8 October 1975) is a Bangladeshi-born British writer, novelist and columnist. [2] Her first novel, A Golden Age (2007), was the Best First Book winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prizes. Her follow-up novel, The Good Muslim, was nominated for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize. [3] She is the granddaughter of Abul Mansur Ahmed and daughter of Mahfuz Anam.

East Pakistan was formed when British rule ended in India and Pakistan was formed in 1947. [5] The territories were situated on either side of India as the book phrases "a pair of horns" on either side of India. [1] [4] This large separation between the two territories led to East Pakistan to be treated like a colony. [9] The West controlled the political majority and economic distribution of both territories. [9] There were also major cultural differences between the two territories. Pakistan mainly practiced Islam and spoke Urdu. Whereas East Pakistan had both Muslim and Hindu populations and spoke mainly Bengali. [9] The inequality, neglect, and differences led to the unrest in East Pakistan. The call for independence from West Pakistan led to the Bangladesh Liberation War. [5] [10] By the second chapter the novel has moved forward to 1971, the year when civil war in Pakistan led to the formation of Bangladesh. Yet the muted power of the earlier section serves to ground this moving story of war and brutality in a tale of motherhood - not with any clichéd parallel of mother and Mother Country, but rather with a reminder that the verdicts handed down in courtrooms can be as devastating as anything that occurs on a battlefield. As the novel makes its way through stories of guerrillas and refugees and torture, we remain within Rehana's consciousness, central to which is the memory of temporarily losing her children. There is a powerful feeling of tension as we wait to see how that story of domestic loss will work its way into the narrative of civil war, and when it does the result is heart-shattering.

Chandrahas (5 May 2007). "The Middle Stage: On Tahmima Anam's A Golden Age". The Middle Stage . Retrieved 2018-12-17.

A Golden Age বা সোনাঝরা দিন?? একাত্তরের দুর্বিসহ দিনগুলোকে আমি কোনোভাবেই সোনাঝরা দিন হিসেবে মেনে নিতে পারিনা! Rehana Haque, a widow with two young adult children lived in Bangladesh. She had married a man she had not expected to love; loved a man she had not expected to lose; lived a life of moderation, a life of few surprises. She had asked her father to find her a husband with little ambition. Someone whose fortunes had nowhere to go ... Parveen Haque: Faiz's wife. She cannot have children so works to have Rehana seen as unfit after the death of Iqbal so that she have get custody of Sohail and Maya. [4]

Born in 1975 into the Bangladesh cultural elite and educated internationally, Anam is too young to have experienced her homeland’s drive for independence and war with Pakistan in 1971. Her chosen mission in her two acclaimed novels to date has therefore been to present the story of her parents’ generation for a new audience. The research for both her books comes partly from interviews she conducted with family members and Bangladeshis who experienced the conflict. Ultimately, even in the darkness of war there is light, as 'in the midst of all this madness,' Rehana realises, 'I found the world seemed right for the first time in a very long time'. This sense of the world turning cannot help but be reflected by the nature of the land in question. 'Every year,' Rehana observes, 'the land will turn to sea as it disappears under the spell of water, and then prevail again, as if by magic, and this refrain, this looping repetition, is the archive of its long, flood-turned history.' Though the Indian military was already pumping the Bengalis against West Pakistan, the Bengali efforts bore fruit when the Indian Army intervened in December 1971 on the side of the Bengali, Pakistan gave Independence to East Pakistan on 16 December 1971, and thus Bangladesh came into being. [10] Themes [ edit ] Motherhood [ edit ] As young widow Rehana Haque awakes one March morning, she might be forgiven for feeling happy. Today she will throw a party for her son and daughter. In the garden of the house she has built, her roses are blooming, her children are almost grown, and beyond their doorstep, the city is buzzing with excitement after recent elections. Change is in the air. Throughout the novel you will not be able to differentiate the seasons, day or night, morning and noon, afternoon and evening. At the morning it is foggy, at noon sun is blazing! In December night, fan is at full speed!Historical fiction. A tale of loss, love and betrayal. Of a family who survived when Rehana Haque did everything she could, facing death and destruction, to protect her two children, daughter Maya and son Sohail. Sorry folks I'm having a hectic time recently, I wanted to write a detailed review on it, but couldn’t manage enough time, so maybe in future....... 😅 ]