Daily Star Books
BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / Navigating Dhaka’s urban labyrinth
A review of ‘Spatial Justice, Contested Governance And Livelihood Challenges In Bangladesh’ (Routledge, 2024) by Lutfun Nahar Lata
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / Mermaids are real: A story of the Haenyeo
Dear readers. I want you to do something with me. Take three long breaths—as deep as you can. Now hold it for two minutes! How long did you hold? I only survived one minute and 23 seconds. And I’m used to spending time in the water.
EVENT REPORT / ‘Rebels with a cause’: In-Zine event celebrates the importance of self-published zines that challenge oppression
The experience was hands-on, intimate, and vulnerable, as many paid tribute to the lives lost in the July Revolution, as well as writing and creating art dedicated to their own personal struggles.
NEWS REPORT / In memory of Ghulam Murshid: Researcher, author, journalist
Murshid’s passing marks the end of an era in literature
ESSAY / Manufacturing praise
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.
THE SHELF / 8 books to read in celebration of Women in Translation month
Women in Translation Month is an annual celebration that toasts to women authors from around the globe who write in languages other than English
BOOK REVIEW: POETRY / Selected poems of Shamim Reza: An overview
Review of 'Shamim Reza: Selected Poems' (ULAB Press, 2023)
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / A “knockout” debut from Rita Bullwinkel
The eight girls in Headshot clearly hope to escape the chaos of their lives in the ring.
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / 'Prophet Song': Full of sound, fury, and significance
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.
BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / Is the antidote itself a virus?
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.
BOOK REVIEW: TEXTBOOK / It’s all crimson inside ‘Shahittopath’
“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.
Book recommendations on post-independence history of Bangladesh
A list of books that might help you get started on the political climate of Bangladesh after 1971
'Joli No Udim Hitte': 5 Books to read on International Indigenous People’s Day
The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, observed each year on August 9, serves as an important reminder of the many injustices that take place in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh
About romances ever-appealing
Irrespective of the ambivalence that marks Metaphysical poetry of the 17th century, Selim marvels us with his choice of words and precision of utterance.
6 essential Rabindranaths you should read
One does not need to remember Rabindranath on the occasion of the anniversary of his death—22 Srabon or August 7 to be precise.
4 books I was grateful to read this year
It's true, I feel differently about books that I previously disliked or enjoyed reading and books that I want as a physical presence in my life
Witnessing the Turkish century
In the post-9/11 world, no country’s name has been evoked more than Turkey’s (or its newly rebranded name of Türkiye) in public discussions by foreign policy pundits and politicians alike, to demonstrate the harmonious symbiosis of the East and West, Islam and secularism, and tradition and modernity.
Poetry collection that traverses the world of Tagore
The poet says that since her childhood, Tagore’s poems and music have been resounding in her heart and soul and that she murmured his lines even in her sleep
Otherness and invisible identities
'The Hippo Girl and Other Stories' holds up a mirror to a society that judges and ridicules those that do not adhere to its shortsighted vision of a homogenised culture.
6 books that shed light on student movements in Bangladesh
One of the movements which helped accelerate the Liberation War of Bangladesh was the Mass Uprising of 1969.
‘I don’t want to go to Dhaka University anymore’
“There is only one life to live— In this lifetime, why should Rajakars have to be seen again?”
