Daily Star Books
EVENT REPORT / Sister Library reads Sehri Tales
The aim of the event was to promote the vibrant tales written by female writers who participated in the Sehri Tales challenge this year
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / It’s ‘Mean Girls’ meets ‘Heathers’ meets ‘The Craft’
The best part of this book is perhaps the fact that all the weird, bonkers cultish stuff just happens with no rhyme or reason to it.
INTERVIEW / Uncovering history through storytelling
In conversation with Reem Bassiouney on the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, 'Al Halwani', and bridging the cultural gap
ESSAY / ‘The day begins wrong’: Mastering tension and suspense in fiction
In my creative writing classes, whether at the University of Toronto or the Hermitage Residency in Bangladesh, I emphasise that any student of fiction must first master suspense
EVENT REPORT / Unveiling voices: Ananke’s Women in Literature Festival 2024
Featuring a diverse lineup of 38 authors from 9 countries—including UAE, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, and Scotland—the festival promises three days of engaging panel discussions,
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / The unanticipated consequences of caretaking
From the sensory delights of birdsong in the morning and sunset views from a lookout point to the less appealing realities of monitoring stagnant pond water and counting newts, we accompany Katie on her journey of discovery.
THE SHELF / 5 short books you can read and finish on Eid day
Here is a list of 5 short and swift books for fellow bookworms (people who would much rather stay in than socialise) to nestle in with on this Eid day.
THE SHELF / 5 of your favourite iftar items as books
The youthful adventurers in the story spare no effort in unravelling a mystery that proves as elusive as the unyielding strands of jilapi, while also exploring deeper, sweeter themes such as friendship.
INTERVIEW / "It's the start of a conversation": Journalist Kavita Puri on producing a podcast series on the Bengal famine
In the latest documentary podcast series “Three Million”, journalist Kavita Puri seeks to answer this haunting question: “How do three million people just disappear?” by talking to some of the last surviving witnesses, including Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen.
EVENT REPORT / Sheikh Zayed Book Award announces winners for the 18th edition
The winners were announced on 4 April, 2024, with the ceremony being hosted by Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman of the SZBA Board of Trustees
BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / A peripatetic poet’s pleasing musings
The title of this book suggests that it is based in Bengal but it really meanders deftly across time and space, more often than not in “mazy motion”.
A mesmerising journey of life’s twists and turn
The Covenant of Water by physician and author Abraham Verghese tells the story of three generations of an Orthodox Saint Thomas Christian family in Kerala. Through suffering and loss, triumphs and victories, the importance of familial ties is examined and supported. In the Kerala of the 1940s, blood ties were sacred, but “family” also meant helpers who worked for you. Members of the three-generational family seem to be under a curse which causes its members to drown in water. The mystical power of water in our lives is explored with precision and sensitivity in the novel.
‘Temple Lamp’: A view of Ghalib’s rich cultural Persian inheritance
A review of ‘Temple Lamp: Verses on Banaras’ (India Penguin Classics, 2023) by Mirza Ghalib, translated by Maaz Bin Bilal
A change of perspective
I love reading about popular inventions which were originally created with a different purpose in mind. For instance, did you know that bubble wrap, that oh-so-ubiquitous packing material that doubles as a stress-relieving toy, was initially intended to be wallpaper? Imagine that! On the one hand, you have hours and hours of bubble-popping fun. On the other hand, probably a trypophobe’s nightmare, so maybe not. Either way, March Chavannes and Alfred Fielding, the co-inventors of the material, thought they had a dud on their hands until IBM started looking for better packing materials for their delicate new computers. The rest is history.
‘Shubeik Lubeik’, wishes, and the vulnerability of human beings
In Deena Mohamed’s Shubeik Lubeik (originally published in 2015 and translated in 2023 by Mohamed herself), wishes have not only drastically altered the fabric of daily life in Egypt, but the world at large.
Meditations on sanity in ‘Hospital’
Though on its surface Sanya Rushdi’s Hospital, translated into English by Arunava Sinha and recently longlisted for the 2024 Stella Prize, looks to be a breezy, short read—it is anything but. With her rather flattened, sparse prose, Rushdi has managed to write an enduring piece of autofiction, a compelling account of psychosis that neither sensationalises nor withers away any sentimentality from the struggles of mental health.
A case for funding the Bangladeshi English-writing scene
If the country’s literary potential is not given generous support, we may never create favourable conditions for aspiring writers to devote time and energy to the art
In conversation with Shazia Omar: Fiction, wellness, readership, and everything in between
'I would like to see more writing coming out of Bangladesh,' Shazia Omar said. 'We are still behind'
To read as an academic: The transformative journey of a reader turned student
I became curious as to how the experience of reading might change for someone who studied it for a living, and how the lens of a literature student might differ from that of a creative writing one
10 books to foster gratitude and pride during Ramadan
As the holy month of Ramadan continues, may these books serve as guiding lights, illuminating the path towards greater understanding, compassion, and happiness
A list of life lessons
Set in 1979, this is a story of monsters—the ones who prey on the vulnerable, the ones that exploit our weaknesses, and the ones that we elevate to positions of power.
