• Mangoes, lychees, and childhood memories in ‘Amar Chelebela’

    For me, Amar Chelebela (1991) by Humayun Ahmed would not only be a summer read but also a comfort read, a holiday retreat, a walking tour of a Bangladesh unheard of today, and also a sneak-peak into the daily bustle of a family who redefined literature, science fiction, caricatures, humour and so much more.

  • Himu of the summer flings

    During my adolescent years, I devoted a significant portion of my time exploring the idea of ‘summer love’. The cinephile in me went from cheesy Disney Channel flicks like Lizzie McGuire: The Movie (2003) to masterpieces like Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom (2012), while the bibliophile in me devoured Andre Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name (2007) and John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines (2006). However, I had to acknowledge all the ways in which these stories didn’t feel relatable to me. Being a Bengali, I’ve grown up reading about the intense romance shared by Devbabu and Paro or watching the pangs of unrequited love in Satyajit Ray’s Charulata (1964). Should I then dismiss the ‘summer fling’ as an irrelevant Western trope? A thing of the sunny Florida beaches and umbrella topped cocktails?

  • DAILY STAR BOOK CLUB PICK

    Starting July 15, we at the Daily Star Book Club have started reading Salman Rushdie’s novel Midnight’s Children. Read-along rules, discussions, and a list of stores where the novel is available are all up on DS Book’s social media pages.

  • On White privilege and Islam

    Islam is practised by 1.6 billion people across the world. But when you grow up in a predominantly Muslim country like Bangladesh, it can often exist as a localised concept in your head.

  • Manifesto 2020

    Anisul Hoque, Translated from the Bengali by Mohammad Shafiqul Islam Do you know, Mr Trump, for deaths of thousands of Americans you’re responsible? You’re liable for the heartrending laments of millions of

  • Sanctuaries lost for book lovers

    The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the knowledge centres of capital Dhaka. Many bookshops are slowly shutting down and publishing houses are struggling to survive. Amidst this crisis, writers and booklovers are seeking state patronage to help them survive.

  • The club for every girl

    I came across Kristy’s Great Idea, the first book of Ann M Martin’s The Baby-Sitters Club legacy, at 16, in my school’s library in Qatar.

  • An Ominous Incense

    There are two things that I believe are enough to make me lose my sanity during times of unrest—scrolling down my Facebook feed and the afternoon TV news. The characters in Megha Majumdar’s new novel, A Burning (2020), become unavoidably embroiled in both.

  • DAILY STAR BOOK CLUB PICK

    After holding polls which closed on July 5, the Daily Star Book Club will be reading Salman Rushdie’s novel Midnight’s Children starting Wednesday, July 15. Read-along rules, discussions, and a list of stores where the novel is available are all up on DS Books’ social media pages.

  • Reading Sontag in the pandemic

    At the time of writing this article, the number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh crept towards 140,000. This crises has brought forth an old conundrum: we rarely think of diseases as a part of ourselves,