A Golden Age : Book Review

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Synopsis

As Rehana Haque awakes one March morning, she may be forgiven for feeling happy. Today she will throw a party for her son and daughter. In the garden of the house she has built, her roses are blooming; her children are almost grown up; and beyond their doorstep, the city is buzzing with excitement after recent elections. Change is in the air. But none of the guests at Rehana's party can foresee what will happen in the days and months that follow. For this is East Pakistan in 1971, a country on the brink of war. And this family's life is about to change for ever.

Set against the backdrop of the Bangladesh War of Independence, A Golden Age is a story of passion and revolution, of hope, faith, and unexpected heroism. In the chaos of this era, everyone--from student leader protesters to the country's leaders, from rickshaw-wallahs to the army's soldiers--must make choices. And as she struggles to keep her family safe, Rehana will find herself faced with a heartbreaking dilemma.

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“About the book.” tahmima.com.08 June, 2008 < http://www.tahmima.com/book.html >.

Review

Tahmima Anam's A Golden Age is an empathic piece of writing. Although she is not an eye-witness to the war yet she crafted a convincing tale from the accounts narrated by people as well as her own research. This fiction brings a story about the Bangladesh Liberation War to an English-speaking audience, but at what expense? Whether she succeeded or not is the point under consideration.

It can’t be denied that the Bangladesh war for independence depicted good against evil, the arch rivals. The security forces especially military of West Pakistan occupied and ransacked the East Pakistan wing (presently Bangladesh) with such an insane devastation and religious chauvinism that it vindicated the forceful cries for liberty in the ruined streets of Dhaka. This desire for liberation grew day by day.

Here, some critical questions strike one’s mind. Haven't we passed biased plot-making? Haven't we decided that the "innocent" device of depicting "evil bad guys" as disgusting, malevolent, and one-sided is inaccurate, unjust as well as immoral? The trichotomy of the good, the bad and the ugly certainly exists in Tahmima Anam's subject matter, but in her novel, A Golden Age, realistic characters and human villains do not. It is worthwhile to mention that in her effort, she certainly hit the bull’s eye.

Based on her grandmother's life and miscellaneous narration of events during the war, the novel tells a tale of Rehana Haque who was a widow and a mother of two.

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