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whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition
3.0
I have not read [b:A Golden Age|823815|A Golden Age|Tahmima Anam|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61k0OPLDFvL._SL75_.jpg|1387754] and I know nothing about the Bangadeshi war against Pakistan. Both of these facts most likely decreased my appreciation for [b:The Good Muslim: A Novel|11331177|The Good Muslim A Novel|Tahmima Anam|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FQVSvdwUL._SL75_.jpg|14600102]. I enjoyed the first of three sections very much, but somewhere in the second what had seemed like an introductory style began to feel very much like a lack of coherency. The lack of exposition contributed to my confusion about the setting and Maya, the primary character, began to repeat her thoughts and observations in a way that became irritating. I find it frustrating that this book was not better, because it very well could have been. It feels like there is a beautiful story that could have been told if only the author had more time or a more brutal editor to trim away the outer edges and reveal the center.
Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy of this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.
Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy of this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.
reikista's review against another edition
4.0
A brother and sister, freedom fighters in the new country of Bangladesh are building their lives after the war, but the wounds from the war days shape them into different people.
The book illustrates different ways of practicing Islam, learned particularities about the languages spoken in Bangladesh, the aftermath of the war, student idealism, women’s issues: the dr. being blamed for misguiding the women, being told to abort the children of rape, victims who don’t want to speak up. Emotional healing for the actors of war.
The book illustrates different ways of practicing Islam, learned particularities about the languages spoken in Bangladesh, the aftermath of the war, student idealism, women’s issues: the dr. being blamed for misguiding the women, being told to abort the children of rape, victims who don’t want to speak up. Emotional healing for the actors of war.
mhdenson's review against another edition
3.0
A bit confusing but intense.
The book was confusing during the first half and it was difficult to keep the time line. The second half was more enjoyable and became very intense. I was hoping to learn more about the Muslim faith so I was disappointed.
The book was confusing during the first half and it was difficult to keep the time line. The second half was more enjoyable and became very intense. I was hoping to learn more about the Muslim faith so I was disappointed.
mellabella's review against another edition
4.0
I bought both this and another of the authors books for my nook. Not realizing this one was a sequel of sorts. Hopefully A Golden Age is as good. I wish this book was told from multiple view points. Instead of just Maya's. It would have been nice to know a little more about Joy (her love interest), Sohail (Her brother. Although a central character, we don't hear from him nearly as much as Maya.), and her mother Rehana. I even found myself wondering more about Piya. But at any rate this was about an era in Bangladesh that I don't know too much about. It was a sad read. Maya is a doctor who goes back home after 7 years of being a "crusading doctor". She goes back after her sister-in-law dies. tries to rejoin her family. Which now consists of her mother, brother, and nephew Zaid. Her mother gets sick. Her brother, now a charismatic religious figure is neglecting his son. It is, at times difficult to like Maya. She is hardened. But, at the end who wouldn't be? Looking forward to reading A Golden Age.
kent231's review against another edition
4.0
Loving and loss are universal. I had to look up quite a few unfamiliar word, but it was well worth the effort.
runeclausen's review against another edition
4.0
This book tells the tale of the bengali woman Maya and her brother Sohail, mother Rehana and nephew Zaid. The setting is post-war-of-independence Bangladesh (1972 forward). The storyline jumps between 1972-1973, right after the war, and 1985 which is supposed to be the "current time".
Maya is a very liberal woman who belives in personal freedoms and denounces religious influence in politics. So she is very opposed to an islamic dictactor taking power in Bangladesh after the war of independence. This dictator is succesful through propaganda to convert a lot of people to islam, even though the pakistani muslim soldiers committed horrible warcrimes against the bengali people. Maya is set on revealing the most horrible of the officers to put the dictator in a bad light, and shift popular opinion.
But Maya is also a nurse/doctor in training, and during the war she got employed to perform abortions on bengali women who got raped by pakistani soldiers. This affects her terribly, and after the war she swears to make it up by becoming a labor-nurse and helping lots of babies into the world, to restore karma. So she moves to a small village for a couple of years to do just this.
When she returns to Dhaka in 1985, she finds her brother, who was also very liberal before, converted and a very holy man. She is shocked by this, and has to distance herself from him, as she can not connect with him anymore. As the book goes on, we find out that Sohail becomes a devout man because in the war he has to kill people even if he do not want to, and this haunts him extremely. He is then given the quran by his mother as a means of some consolidation, and he finds that god will forgive him according to the quran, and so he devouts his life to the god that has saved him.
Sohail has a son, Zaid, who Maya cares a lot for, because Zaid's mother died, and Sohail is very absent. She wants to send Zaid to school, but Sohail is against this. Sohail does however after some convincing agree to let Maya homeschool him. But Sohail is not satisfied and ends up sending the boy off to a discipline school.
The mother gets cancer, and Maya gets a quick dabble into holiness, but does quickly regain her liberal views.
Maya tries to rescue Zaid from the discipline school, but it fails horribly.
A great book that deals with a lot of serious topics of war, trauma, religion, society-building, family relations, revenge, forgiveness etc. Generally as the title suggests, how to be a good muslim, without also being too radical.
Maya is a very liberal woman who belives in personal freedoms and denounces religious influence in politics. So she is very opposed to an islamic dictactor taking power in Bangladesh after the war of independence. This dictator is succesful through propaganda to convert a lot of people to islam, even though the pakistani muslim soldiers committed horrible warcrimes against the bengali people. Maya is set on revealing the most horrible of the officers to put the dictator in a bad light, and shift popular opinion.
But Maya is also a nurse/doctor in training, and during the war she got employed to perform abortions on bengali women who got raped by pakistani soldiers. This affects her terribly, and after the war she swears to make it up by becoming a labor-nurse and helping lots of babies into the world, to restore karma. So she moves to a small village for a couple of years to do just this.
When she returns to Dhaka in 1985, she finds her brother, who was also very liberal before, converted and a very holy man. She is shocked by this, and has to distance herself from him, as she can not connect with him anymore. As the book goes on, we find out that Sohail becomes a devout man because in the war he has to kill people even if he do not want to, and this haunts him extremely. He is then given the quran by his mother as a means of some consolidation, and he finds that god will forgive him according to the quran, and so he devouts his life to the god that has saved him.
Sohail has a son, Zaid, who Maya cares a lot for, because Zaid's mother died, and Sohail is very absent. She wants to send Zaid to school, but Sohail is against this. Sohail does however after some convincing agree to let Maya homeschool him. But Sohail is not satisfied and ends up sending the boy off to a discipline school.
The mother gets cancer, and Maya gets a quick dabble into holiness, but does quickly regain her liberal views.
Maya tries to rescue Zaid from the discipline school, but it fails horribly.
A great book that deals with a lot of serious topics of war, trauma, religion, society-building, family relations, revenge, forgiveness etc. Generally as the title suggests, how to be a good muslim, without also being too radical.
acrigger's review against another edition
5.0
I'm still quite overwhelmed with this book. I'll have to write a decent review later.
hanntastic's review against another edition
2.0
Global Read Challenge 27: Bangladesh
Maybe I should have read the first book first, and then I might have liked this one better. As it was, I felt it had too much crammed into it. It was slow and I didn't like any of the characters.
Maybe I should have read the first book first, and then I might have liked this one better. As it was, I felt it had too much crammed into it. It was slow and I didn't like any of the characters.