A Golden Age

A Golden Age
Author Tahmima Anam
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre Historical novel, War novel
Publisher John Murray (UK)
Publication date
 March 2007 (UK)
Media type Print (Hardback)
ISBN 0-7195-6010-1
OCLC 181926640
Followed by The Good Muslim

A Golden Age is the first novel of the Bangladesh-born writer Tahmima Anam.[1] It tells the story of the Bangladesh War of Independence through the eyes of one family.[2] The novel was awarded the prize for Best First Book in the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2008. It was also shortlisted for the 2007 Guardian First Book Award. The first chapter of the novel appeared in the January 2007 edition of Granta magazine.

Plot summary

The plot of the novel is inspired by the true story of the writer's grandmother during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The protagonist is named Rehana Haque. The story also covers the inner conflict of Rehana as she loses the custody of her children after her husband's death. Along with her desperate attempt to win the minds of her children, she tries to protect them as they get involved in the war. Her son joins the Mukti Bahini and her daughter reports on the war from Kolkata.

Characters

  • Rehana Haque: The main character
  • Sohail: Rehana's son
  • Maya: Rehana's daughter
  • Mrs. Chowdhury: Rehana's friend and neighbor
  • Silvi: Mrs. Chowdhury's daughter and a love interest of Sohail's
  • Sharmeen: Maya's Friend who was raped in the war
  • Iqbal Haque: Rehana's dead husband
  • The Major: Rehana's love interest
  • Sabeer: Silvi's fiance.
  • Mr and Mrs. Sengupta: Rehana's Hindu tenants at Shona
  • Mrs.Rahman and Mrs.Akram: Rehanas neighbours and fellow 'sewing sisters'
  • Faiz Haque : Rehana's brother in law
  • Parveen Haque : Faiz's wife

Reception

Clemency Burton-Hill of The Guardian described A Golden Age as a "stunning debut".[3] There has been criticism of factual inaccuracies in the book.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Anam, Tahmima (2009). A golden age : a novel. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 006147875X.
  2. ↑ Singh, Amardeep. "Review: Tahmima Anam's A Golden Age". Lehigh University (Blog). Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Burton-Hill, Clemency. "And ne'er the twain shall meet". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Gorra, Michael. "Birth of a Nation". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2015.

Further reading

  • Villanueva, Marianne (13 January 2008). "A widow's window into war". San Francisco Chronicle.
  • Smith, Wendy (3 February 2008). "The Reluctant Revolutionary". The Washington Post.
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