books

EVENT REPORT / An eco-critical look at Sultan: Reading the manuscript of ‘Sultan Er Krishi Jiggasha’

With the aid of Duniyadari Archive, Pavel Partha’s soon-to-be-published book Sultan Er Krishi Jiggasha is a new addition, which looks at Sultan’s work from an eco-critical perspective.

BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / A prayer for Mauritius

Written in deep striking prose, Saramandi lends her authorial voice to the changing dynamics of her life whose future is described as  “a line that turned out to be a loop” similar to the fate of her homeland.

THE SHELF / 5 books on women’s everyday terror to read this Halloween: The horror that persists

The violence is domestic, institutional, and often unnamed—carried out by people who look nothing like monsters.

THE SHELF / 8 books to read if you’re fascinated by the louvre heist

These stories prove one thing: art theft never goes out of fashion.

BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / From sacred art to consciousness: A leap too far

When Dan Brown finally returned in 2025 with The Secret of Secrets—the sixth Robert Langdon adventure—the world that devoured The Da Vinci Code (Doubleday, 2003) had mixed reactions to the story.

BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / The perils of youth in ‘Theft’

Review of Abulrazak Gurnah’s ‘Theft’ (Riverhead Books, 2025)

BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / Charting the south’s path

The book examines the context and circumstances that spurred these six central figures to devise or promote the solutions they did

EVENT REPORT / ‘Barisal and Beyond’ reprinted: Celebrating Clinton B. Seely’s essays on Bangla literature

Dr Seely’s story in Bangladesh begins in Barisal Zilla School in 1963, while working as a volunteer for the American Peace Corps.

BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / The death of the film and the rise of its maker

Novels that explore the life of a filmmaker are few and far between. When I think of a film, it’s usually the actors that are at the center of my attention and more and more recent novels attest to that.

October 23, 2025
October 23, 2025

Charting the south’s path

The book examines the context and circumstances that spurred these six central figures to devise or promote the solutions they did

October 19, 2025
October 19, 2025

‘Barisal and Beyond’ reprinted: Celebrating Clinton B. Seely’s essays on Bangla literature

Dr Seely’s story in Bangladesh begins in Barisal Zilla School in 1963, while working as a volunteer for the American Peace Corps.

October 16, 2025
October 16, 2025

The death of the film and the rise of its maker

Novels that explore the life of a filmmaker are few and far between. When I think of a film, it’s usually the actors that are at the center of my attention and more and more recent novels attest to that.

October 16, 2025
October 16, 2025

A mundane tragedy

In her first book Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard (Anchor, 1999), Kiran Desai wrote a comic fable of a man who escapes the world by climbing a tree.

July 12, 2025
July 12, 2025

The growing chasm of BookTok

Are the glory days of BookTok coming to an end?

June 23, 2025
June 23, 2025

Are we hardwired for unhappiness?

The sad reality about humans is that we are not wired for happiness. Natural selection prioritises survival and reproduction, which does not necessarily involve being happier. People are now less happy than they ever have been. This is not just an abstract philosophical issue; it is becoming a national concern. 

April 23, 2025
April 23, 2025

A tribute to the written word

'A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies'

April 23, 2025
April 23, 2025

We didn’t mean to stop reading

There was a time, maybe not that long ago, when the only thing you needed for a perfect evening was a book

April 10, 2025
April 10, 2025

‘Sunrise on the Reaping’: Fan service and repetitive themes weigh down ‘Hunger Games’ prequel

Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series has captivated pop culture with its bold take on tyranny, sacrifice, and resistance, spanning Katniss Everdeen’s blazing defiance in The Hunger Games (2008) to her final stand in Mockingjay (2010) against Coriolanus Snow’s cold cruelty.

March 16, 2025
March 16, 2025

‘Bengal Photography’s Reality Quest’: A discourse with Naeem Mohaiemen

Throughout the session, Mohaiemen’s passionate, spontaneous, and engaging demeanour captivated the audience, fostering a deeper understanding of storytelling through images.