review
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, an action-packed monster flick
Godzilla x Kong closely follows the connection of Jia, an orphaned girl of the Iwi tribe who was adopted by Dr. Andrews, a linguist working for Monarch, with Kong. In addition, even though Godzilla takes the spotlight of the title, the movie was partly carried by the depth of character that was portrayed within Kong.
Fallout sets a new bar for video-game adaptations
Fallout expands upon the beloved and critically acclaimed role-playing game franchise, and successfully introduces it to a new audience.
#Reviews / Crafting majesty: Tasleema Alam's royal commissions and her love for Islamic art
From gracing the majestic walls of mosques to the pages of intricate manuscripts and beyond, the appeal of the Islamic art form has persisted over centuries and captivated many. The beauty and depth of this art form attracted Tasleema Alam – an artist, designer and educator – who recently designed an Afghan carpet for His Majesty King Charles III.
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / Unveiling the mind’s maze: Fosse’s ‘Aliss at the Fire’
A review of Jon Fosse's ‘Aliss at the Fire’ (Dalkey Archive Press, 2010)
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / She’s a terrible person, but that’s the point
A review of Ottessa Moshfegh's 'My Year of Rest and Relaxation' (Penguin Press, 2023)
Tasting authentic Dhakaiya food outside Puran Dhaka
Discover Dhakaiya Chapkhana, a new aesthetic cafe in town serving authentic Dhaka cuisine. Admire the colourful wall depicting Dhaka's historic monuments as you indulge in flavourful dishes.
BOOK REVIEW / The Continuing Relevance of Munnu
A review of 'Munnu: A Boy from Kashmir' (Fourth Estate, 2015), a stark portrayal of Kashmir, not through the eyes of a foreign individual looking in from the outside, but a Kashmiri living through the Indian occupation
Archie: A brutal depiction of a bold, broken, and boisterous man
What Archie lacks in budget, it makes up for in the honest performances of its leading actors and its touching story about a beloved icon.
Book Review / JK Rowling’s 'The Running Grave': A souring tale that clumsily rolls downhill
Review of 'The Running Grave' (Sphere, 2023) by Robert Galbraith
‘Shohoj Kothai Orthoniti’ A localised flavour of economics
Flipping the pages of a textbook often makes me feel like I’m trapped in the US. We studied economics from an American lens, using American textbooks,
ON THE WINGS OF POETRY: Flight of the Angsana Oriole
Last week it flew in, landing on my doorstep, and flapped open its wings released from its bubble wrapped cage. As the delivery man from Amazon Italy drove away, I regarded the poetry book in my hand.
Memoirs of our unsung heroes
Massacre, murder, torture, violence, bayonet, bloodshed, grenade, displacement, death—these words bring to mind a war scenario.
The Runaway Boy: A promise not delivered
The Runway Boy (Eka, 2020), written by Manoranjan Byapari and translated from Bangla by V Ramaswamy, delivers an accurate portrayal of postcolonial Bengal,
Reinventing the pujo feast
Everyone talks about food during pujo. More often than not, khichuri, polao, ilish, chingri and mangsho tends to land leading roles in these discussions with luchi, and cholar dal playing solid supporting roles. And of course, beyond all this there are sweets. Artful, creative, delicate, yet honest to god mishti. Sandesh, kamolabhog, chandrapuli, narkel naru… the list can go on.
Making a killing out of a killing
A visit to any bookshop today will attest to the reading public’s fascination with crime (and criminals).
Blood, rage and love on the verge of 1971
Reading Rahad Abir’s Bengal Hound, despite the novel being written in English, felt a lot like reading in Bangla. While no two languages can ever truly be compared, there is much to be said about seeing Bangla and Bangladesh through an English language lens.
A paean to storytelling
Following the trails of Imaginary Homelands (Penguin Books, 1992) and Step Across The Line (Modern Library, 2003), comprising essays written and lectures given by Salman Rushdie between 2003-2020, Languages of Truth is Rushdie’s third collection of nonfiction works and is as a delectable read as its predecessors if not more.
The new speculative literary magazine on the block
Veering off from stories for a bit, Fahim Anzoom Rumman’s “The Secret” was a breath of fresh air. The piece seemed to be a cross between a poem and the kind of fable your grandparents would tell you as a kid to get you to fall asleep.
Shamim Reza creates new frontiers with his new poetry collection
Over the last 30 years, he has received multiple national and international literary awards for his work. He is, currently, the vice-president of PEN International, Bangladesh chapter.
