A Golden Age – Tahmima Anam

An intimate and ultimately heartrending look at the Bangladesh war of 1971, A Golden Age is the story of Rehana, a young widow. Due to her situation and her poverty, her children are taken away from her by childless relatives and this heartbreak and the guilt over her actions to get them back becomes the centerpoint of the novel and the guiding hand behind all her actions. When her children become involved in the war, while part of her wants to wrap them up in cotton wool and hide them, the part that actually determines her actions is her indulgence and need to give them everything they want.

A debut novel from Bangladeshi authot Tahmima Anam, the book is based on the author’s grandmother’s experiences during the war and provides a funny and at the same time poignant look at what the war meant to the people on a personal level. It becomes a story of torn loyalties and the maternal heart and guilt. While some may be put off by the fact that the author hasn’t provided a glossary for many of the Bengali and Urdu terms used, there is no arguing the fact that this expected sense of familiarity adds to the emotion of the narrative.

S.K. Kwon