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 | |
OCLC | 181926640 |
Followed by | The Good Muslim |
A Golden Age is the first novel of the Bangladesh-born writer Tahmima Anam. It tells the story of the Bangladesh War of Independence through the eyes of one family. 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.
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.
Clemency Burton-Hill of The Guardian described A Golden Age as a "stunning debut". There has been criticism of factual inaccuracies in the book. 5 The book makes references from the authors personal experiences.