Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published in USA
Aug 2011
304 pages
Genre: Novels
Publication Information
Pankaj Mishra praised A Golden Age, Tahmima Anam's debut novel, as a "startlingly accomplished and gripping novel that describes not only the tumult of a great historical event... but also the small but heroic struggles of individuals living in the shadow of revolution and war." In her new novel, The Good Muslim, Anam again deftly weaves the personal and the political, evoking with great skill and urgency the lasting ravages of war and the competing loyalties of love and belief.
In the dying days of a brutal civil war, Sohail Haque stumbles upon an abandoned building. Inside he finds a young woman whose story will haunt him for a lifetime to come... Almost a decade later, Sohail's sister, Maya, returns home after a long absence to find her beloved brother transformed. While Maya has stuck to her revolutionary ideals, Sohail has shunned his old life to become a charismatic religious leader. And when Sohail decides to send his son to a madrasa, the conflict between brother and sister comes to a devastating climax. Set in Bangladesh at a time when religious fundamentalism is on the rise, The Good Muslim is an epic story about faith, family, and the long shadow of war.
Click to the right or left of the sample to turn the page.
(If no book jacket appears in a few seconds, then we don't have an excerpt of this book or your browser is unable to display it)
"Starred Review. [G]ripping and beautifully written... From historical, political, and social tragedy, Anam has fashioned a mesmerizing story capturing a culture and a time..." - Publishers Weekly
"Anam seems to be a novelist not so much luxuriating in the act of writing as in total control of it, using just the right words to create her stunning story." - The Independent (UK)
"The story is dark... yet the style is so easy, that of a masterful realist unafraid to capture chaos and crisis, that it carries you through the pain." - The Telegraph (UK)
"Its clarity, alacrity and succession of brief, vivid scenes give the characters room to breathe." - The Observer (UK)
"Anam has a gift for tackling complex issues both personal and political." - Library Journal
The information about The Good Muslim shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's online-magazine that keeps our members abreast of notable and high-profile books publishing in the coming weeks. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.
Photo: Abeer Y Hoque
Tahmima Anam was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 1975 and grew up in Paris, New
York and Bangkok, due to her father's career with UNESCO
Tahmima Anam attended Harvard University, where she earned a Ph.D. in Social
Anthropology. In 2005 she completed an MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway,
London, and is the recipient of a Writing Fellowship from the Arts Council of
England. Anam's first book, A Golden Age is the first in a planned trilogy that brings to life the creation of her native country. A Golden Age was the winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book. Anam lives in London and Dhaka.
Name Pronunciation
Tahmima Anam: Emphasis on the second syllable of last name
.gif)
"Berlin's new book is a marvel, filled with deeply touching stories about lives on the fringes."—NPR
About the book
Mighty Justice
by Dovey Johnson Roundtree & Katie McCabe
An inspiring life story that speaks urgently to our troubled times.
Reader Reviews
BUTTERFLY YELLOW
Winner of the BookBrowse Award for Best Young Adult Novel, and the overall highest rated book of the year!
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info, and giveaways by email.
