book review

BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / All our heroes end up dead

Review of ‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ (Sort of Books, 2022) by Shehan Karunatilaka

BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / Agonies of the downtrodden

Anasru Ishwar written by Kazi Labonno is an impressive work of fiction, shedding light on the deepest gloom pervading the remotest corner of society.

REFLECTIONS / Time-travelling through London and Tehran

The London Bookshop Affair and The Stationery Shop of Tehran are veritable time-travel portals. They offer a deep look at the political mishaps of the times

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: POETRY / Balancing the act of oneness and being one with oneself

Kiriti Sengupta is an award-winning poet, translator, editor, and publisher based in New Delhi, India. Oneness is his latest collection of poems. The seemingly unassuming thin volume does not prepare readers for the multi-sensory experience that is in store for them as they open the book. Even before one’s mind and eyes get used to reading, the poet jolts readers as he writes “I rived my eyes / for inditing poems. / Would you reckon them / by their length?” 

BOOK REVIEW : FICTION / Riding the early years of motherhood through ‘Soldier Sailor’

While reading it, one might feel that they are reading a mother’s confessions while she takes care of her son.

BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / 'Thrice born': The journey of Bangladeshi literature in English

Bangladeshi Literature in English: Critical Essays and Interviews, edited by Mohammad A. Quayum and Md. Mahmudul Hasan, focuses on critical essays on Bangladeshi literature in English—both from Bangladesh and its diasporas (US, UK, and Australia).

BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / Sufism and the emergence of Bengal’s syncretic culture

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

BOOK REVIEW: POETRY / Selected poems of Shamim Reza: An overview

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

October 6, 2024
October 6, 2024

All our heroes end up dead

Review of ‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ (Sort of Books, 2022) by Shehan Karunatilaka

September 26, 2024
September 26, 2024

Agonies of the downtrodden

Anasru Ishwar written by Kazi Labonno is an impressive work of fiction, shedding light on the deepest gloom pervading the remotest corner of society.

September 24, 2024
September 24, 2024

Time-travelling through London and Tehran

The London Bookshop Affair and The Stationery Shop of Tehran are veritable time-travel portals. They offer a deep look at the political mishaps of the times

September 15, 2024
September 15, 2024

Navigating Dhaka’s urban labyrinth

A review of ‘Spatial Justice, Contested Governance And Livelihood Challenges In Bangladesh’ (Routledge, 2024) by Lutfun Nahar Lata

September 12, 2024
September 12, 2024

Balancing the act of oneness and being one with oneself

Kiriti Sengupta is an award-winning poet, translator, editor, and publisher based in New Delhi, India. Oneness is his latest collection of poems. The seemingly unassuming thin volume does not prepare readers for the multi-sensory experience that is in store for them as they open the book. Even before one’s mind and eyes get used to reading, the poet jolts readers as he writes “I rived my eyes / for inditing poems. / Would you reckon them / by their length?” 

September 8, 2024
September 8, 2024

Riding the early years of motherhood through ‘Soldier Sailor’

While reading it, one might feel that they are reading a mother’s confessions while she takes care of her son.

September 5, 2024
September 5, 2024

'Thrice born': The journey of Bangladeshi literature in English

Bangladeshi Literature in English: Critical Essays and Interviews, edited by Mohammad A. Quayum and Md. Mahmudul Hasan, focuses on critical essays on Bangladeshi literature in English—both from Bangladesh and its diasporas (US, UK, and Australia).

August 29, 2024
August 29, 2024

Sufism and the emergence of Bengal’s syncretic culture

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

August 20, 2024
August 20, 2024

Selected poems of Shamim Reza: An overview

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

August 17, 2024
August 17, 2024

A “knockout” debut from Rita Bullwinkel

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