Daily Star Books
BOOK REVIEW: POETRY AND NONFICTION / Poetry for our times and a poet’s new frontier
Inevitably, Kaiser Haq’s The New Frontier and Other Odds and Ends in Verse and Prose is about the poet, his poetic predilections, and situatedness at this time of human existence. In many ways it is typical of the verse we have come to expect from our leading poet in English for a long time now, but in other ways it articulates his present-day concerns in new and striking poetic measures.
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / The saga of a mother’s sacrifice and resilience
Anisul Hoque’s Kokhono Amar Maa-ke is the story of appalling sacrifices made by a mother and her unwavering determination to secure a bright future for her children.
EVENT REPORT / Sister Library reads Sehri Tales
The aim of the event was to promote the vibrant tales written by female writers who participated in the Sehri Tales challenge this year
BOOK REVIEW: GRAPHIC NOVEL / A love letter to traveling with friends
A review of ‘Roaming’ (Drawn and Quarterly, 2023) by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
INTERVIEW / The stories we want to tell: In conversation with Gemini Wahhaj
In Gemini Wahhaj’s debut novel, The Children of This Madness (7.13 Books, 2023), the follow the lives of engineering professor Nasir Uddin and his daughter Beena, an aspiring PhD candidate living in the US.
THE SHELF / 6 Books to add to your summer reading list
As summer rolls around and our lifestyle changes to adjust to the heat, so do a lot of our books! So here are a few books that might make a good addition to this year’s summer reading list.
REFLECTION / The endless scream
A reflection on Mahmoud Darwish’s 'A River Dies of Thirst: Diaries' (first published by Archipelago in 2009)
INTERVIEW / Uncovering history through storytelling
In conversation with Reem Bassiouney on the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, 'Al Halwani', and bridging the cultural gap
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / The strange library of Haruki Murakami
Review of the Bangla translation of ‘A Strange Library’ (Knopf, 2014) by Haruki Murakami
EVENT REPORT / PublishHer Excellence Awards winners announced at Bologna Children’s Book Fair
Mitia Osman, CEO and publisher of Mayurpankhi and the executive director at Agamee Prakashani, won the Emerging Leader Award
ESSAY / ‘The day begins wrong’: Mastering tension and suspense in fiction
In my creative writing classes, whether at the University of Toronto or the Hermitage Residency in Bangladesh, I emphasise that any student of fiction must first master suspense
A change of perspective
I love reading about popular inventions which were originally created with a different purpose in mind. For instance, did you know that bubble wrap, that oh-so-ubiquitous packing material that doubles as a stress-relieving toy, was initially intended to be wallpaper? Imagine that! On the one hand, you have hours and hours of bubble-popping fun. On the other hand, probably a trypophobe’s nightmare, so maybe not. Either way, March Chavannes and Alfred Fielding, the co-inventors of the material, thought they had a dud on their hands until IBM started looking for better packing materials for their delicate new computers. The rest is history.
‘Shubeik Lubeik’, wishes, and the vulnerability of human beings
In Deena Mohamed’s Shubeik Lubeik (originally published in 2015 and translated in 2023 by Mohamed herself), wishes have not only drastically altered the fabric of daily life in Egypt, but the world at large.
A case for funding the Bangladeshi English-writing scene
If the country’s literary potential is not given generous support, we may never create favourable conditions for aspiring writers to devote time and energy to the art
In conversation with Shazia Omar: Fiction, wellness, readership, and everything in between
'I would like to see more writing coming out of Bangladesh,' Shazia Omar said. 'We are still behind'
To read as an academic: The transformative journey of a reader turned student
I became curious as to how the experience of reading might change for someone who studied it for a living, and how the lens of a literature student might differ from that of a creative writing one
10 books to foster gratitude and pride during Ramadan
As the holy month of Ramadan continues, may these books serve as guiding lights, illuminating the path towards greater understanding, compassion, and happiness
A list of life lessons
Set in 1979, this is a story of monsters—the ones who prey on the vulnerable, the ones that exploit our weaknesses, and the ones that we elevate to positions of power.
The first American months
The sun was up. The sky was a perfect cerulean blue, the neighbourhood blissfully quiet. Through my window, I relished the sunny first day of 2020, with a cup of tea in my hand.
A flowing conversation at Dhaka Flow Festival 2024
On the midday of a warm spring, Dhaka Flow Fest 2024 organised a delightful reading session at Baridhara Lakeside Rajuk Park with authors Farah Ghuznavi, Neeman Sobhan, Salahdin Imam, and Nahiyan Ameen
‘Father of the Nation Bangabandhu’ marries the art of Japanese storytelling with the rich tapestry of Bangladesh’s history
A review of 'Father of the Nation Bangabandhu' (NRB Scholars, 2024) by ME Chowdhury Shameem and Iwamoto Keita
