Kolkata, July 29 (IANS) For the people of Bangladesh, the challenges of peace were greater than those of the Liberation War as they had not got what they had aspired for during their freedom struggle, Dhaka-born writer Tahmima Anam said Friday.
‘People in Bangladesh love to talk about the war. The fact that they talk so much about it shows they did not get what they had aspired for during the war. For them, challenges of peace were darker than those of the war,’ Anam said at the launch of her book ‘The Good Muslim’ here.
The book, set in the aftermath of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, deals with the challenges faced by the people after the creation of their new nation.
‘The book is about the clashes between two siblings on their ideals, identity and beliefs. It is about how they negotiate life in a new nation haunted by the past and chilling pre-sentiments of the future. It is about a national victory that doesn’t feel like a victory,’ Anam said.
Eminent writer and former parliamentarian Krishna Bose, after launching the book, said it held her spellbound. ‘In spite of being understated, the agony and pain in the book is palpable. The narrative makes the book so gripping,’ Bose said.
Anam, who resides in London, won the Commonwealth Writers’ Award for Best First Book for her maiden novel ‘A Golden Age’, which revolves around the relationship of a mother and her son.
‘The Good Muslim’ is a sequel to her first novel.
