A Golden Age

Product Information

The story falters when it isn't tagging along with the fantastical events of what actually happened. When her children were small and she first became a widow, Rehana lost custody of them and went to great lengths to get them back. Rehana's sisters in Karachi and sister-in-law in Lahore are, in contrast (although they all grew up in Calcutta), contemptuous and racist towards Hindus. Rehana struggles with understanding passionate nationalism of her children and finding her own personal identity outside of being a mother and where her sense of nationalism fits into that identity. In 2022, the novel was included on the " Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

I don’t think I’ve read a book set in Bangladesh before, but I have read a lot of books focusing on the human cost of conflict, and this one covered some familiar territory, while feeling a bit episodic at times. Anam, choosing the zoomed in scenery of an upper middle class family, brilliantly connected the conflict and struggle at familial level to the much bigger story of revolution. She had married a man she had not expected to love; loved a man she had not expected to lose; lived a life of moderation, a life of few surprises.Throughout the novel you will not be able to differentiate the seasons, day or night, morning and noon, afternoon and evening.

It is undeniably an important story, sensitively told, which filled me in on a time and place that I was distinctly hazy about. The denouement left me slightly annoyed, but despite that, it was a beautifully written story in prose that flowed like music on paper. With the conflict taking its bloody course in the East, Rehana realises she cannot stop them from joining the Bangla effort as freedom fighters.Povestea incepe inainte de 1971, atunci cand Rehana isi pierde temporar copiii, dupa moartea sotului. This story reveals that while a women's role in war is different, they too do not come out untouched.

Descumpanita de turnura pe care a luat-o viata ei, nu reuseste sa il convinga pe judecator ca ii poate creste singura pe Sohail si Maya, iar acestia sunt luati timp de un an de rude. And lastly and maybe most hilarious, the ease with which the Mukti Bahini went around in trucks to carry arms for their guerilla missions against Pakistan. This led to the 1971 Bangladesh genocide that caused millions of refugees to flee to India and the deaths of 58,000 to 3,000,000 civilians. Insa o cercetare mai intensa si o mai mare atentie la detalii ar fi facut o mare diferenta in poveste.She is a single mother; her children are in their late teens and are part of the struggle for independence. Divided Pakistan is not just the background against which the stories of the individual characters are told but the struggle for independence is told through the characters themselves, some from the west, and all vividly drawn. As it is though, it is a book rife with big names, and big events and big, lofty ideals that can't ever be bothered with the dirt and strife that are real lives.

From all that we see of it in the news over here in Canada, you would think the country is in a perpetual state of flood/disaster/famine.That worked fine for me, although other readers in our group were frustrated by the withholding of information. The author shows the fears and animosities among the various religious and ethnic groups, while also giving beautiful examples of tenderness and generosity from people willing to cross those lines and care deeply for those who are supposed to be enemies. Rehana’s relationships with her neighbours, her children and wider family are portrayed skilfully, always rich and alive, if not always affectionate. She was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh and lives in London, where she is on the board of ROLI, a music technology startup founded by her husband. Set on that turbulent time span, A Golden Age is the story of Rehana, a middle aged muslim woman and a mother of two grown up child, caught in the midst of violent atmosphere of 71.