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 madrasa, the conflict between them 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.
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'What a superb novel. Its delicacy and power and breadth - the way its compassion and grief keep complicating its anger - I read it with heart in mouth.'
--Helen Garner, author of The Spare Room
A major new talent. --Observer
The Good Muslim provides some penetrating meditations on faith, war, linguistic and class hegemony, parenthood, sibling rivalry and love. One looks forward to the third volume of the trilogy. --Claire Chambers, Times Literary Supplement
An assured, moving read. --The Times on A Golden Age
In this book of searing beauty, Tahmima Anam shows us a family searching for ways to navigate through the aftermath of war; in the process she takes us on an unforgettable journey through a young nation trying to define itself. --Kamila Shamsie, author of Burnt Shadows
Tahmima Anam's unflinching examination of the agonies of post-colonial nation-building sets the intimacy of personal life against a backdrop of national and religious conflict. Delicate, heart-wrenching and poetic, this is a novel of great poise and power.
--Tash Aw, author of The Harmony Silk Factory and Map of the Invisible World
Confirms Anam as one of our most important novelists --Sunday Telegraph
Tahmima Anam's achievements are many in The Good Muslim, but the biggest, in some ways, is that she manages to make the "difficult second album" look easy. This is a quietly confident novel that shows no strain of critical expectation, and all the narrative and poetic skill of her debut. Strong emotional undercurrents and intense passions course between characters. At times, the fabric of the narrative shimmers with poetry. 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 --Independent
A moving and intelligent picture of a society in flux...Anam is excellent in her use of the details of everyday life. There are some acutely observed set pieces, and her evocation of the way her characters live is so entrancing. Good novels invite you to think and feel. This is just such a one. You live with the characters and they leave you with questions. A remarkable and beautiful novel
--Scotsman
--Helen Garner, author of The Spare Room
A major new talent. --Observer
The Good Muslim provides some penetrating meditations on faith, war, linguistic and class hegemony, parenthood, sibling rivalry and love. One looks forward to the third volume of the trilogy. --Claire Chambers, Times Literary Supplement
An assured, moving read. --The Times on A Golden Age
In this book of searing beauty, Tahmima Anam shows us a family searching for ways to navigate through the aftermath of war; in the process she takes us on an unforgettable journey through a young nation trying to define itself. --Kamila Shamsie, author of Burnt Shadows
Tahmima Anam's unflinching examination of the agonies of post-colonial nation-building sets the intimacy of personal life against a backdrop of national and religious conflict. Delicate, heart-wrenching and poetic, this is a novel of great poise and power.
--Tash Aw, author of The Harmony Silk Factory and Map of the Invisible World
Confirms Anam as one of our most important novelists --Sunday Telegraph
Tahmima Anam's achievements are many in The Good Muslim, but the biggest, in some ways, is that she manages to make the "difficult second album" look easy. This is a quietly confident novel that shows no strain of critical expectation, and all the narrative and poetic skill of her debut. Strong emotional undercurrents and intense passions course between characters. At times, the fabric of the narrative shimmers with poetry. 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 --Independent
A moving and intelligent picture of a society in flux...Anam is excellent in her use of the details of everyday life. There are some acutely observed set pieces, and her evocation of the way her characters live is so entrancing. Good novels invite you to think and feel. This is just such a one. You live with the characters and they leave you with questions. A remarkable and beautiful novel
--Scotsman
About the Author
Tahmima Anam was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 1975. Her first novel, A Golden Age, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Costa First Novel Prize, and was the winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book. Her writing has been published in Granta, the New York Times, and the Guardian. She lives in London.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By CJ Craig
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The Good Muslim by Tahmina Anam is a wonderful story about the birth of the Bangladeshi nation and the suffering endured to bring this about. Following the path of Maya we journey between her rebellious flight from home to work as a doctor in the rural parts of the country. Here she encounters the sufferings of desperately impoverished people caught up in the struggle for freedom. Maya devotes her service to pregnant women and endures many a fight with the conservative male population who fail to appreciate the need for maternal health care, both before and after birth.
Following a particularly difficult encounter Maya returns to her parental home and longs for the relationship with her brother, Sohail, who fought in the war, to be as it was before they went their separate ways. But Sohail has been hurt by his war time experiences and has sought refuge in a strict interpretation of Islam. This retreat from Maya and their mother intensifies when his wife dies. He seems to care little for his son, Zaid or his mother suffering from terminal cancer and this shocks Maya. Zaid's rescue from the madrassa ends in tragedy.
Beautifully written and covering the pain and bitter sweet aspects of most of our lives as we struggle with terminal illness, broken relationships, the judgement of others and the utter hopelessness felt when governments turn against their own people, Anam still brings us to hope.
Set in Bangladesh it is a refreshing read for those who know little about this country or its customs. While wholly familiar it also challenges the stereotypes and pre-judgements we unconsciously hold onto. A wonderful expression of our global village growing into mutual respect and understanding through the simple vehicle of a well-told story.
Following a particularly difficult encounter Maya returns to her parental home and longs for the relationship with her brother, Sohail, who fought in the war, to be as it was before they went their separate ways. But Sohail has been hurt by his war time experiences and has sought refuge in a strict interpretation of Islam. This retreat from Maya and their mother intensifies when his wife dies. He seems to care little for his son, Zaid or his mother suffering from terminal cancer and this shocks Maya. Zaid's rescue from the madrassa ends in tragedy.
Beautifully written and covering the pain and bitter sweet aspects of most of our lives as we struggle with terminal illness, broken relationships, the judgement of others and the utter hopelessness felt when governments turn against their own people, Anam still brings us to hope.
Set in Bangladesh it is a refreshing read for those who know little about this country or its customs. While wholly familiar it also challenges the stereotypes and pre-judgements we unconsciously hold onto. A wonderful expression of our global village growing into mutual respect and understanding through the simple vehicle of a well-told story.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By J. Coulton
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This is the second novel in a trilogy by Tahmima Anam, which fuses the background to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, with the deeply personal experiences of one family against the backdrop of that conflict, and the subsequent divisions which it creates both within the country as a whole, and within the family itself. It continues the story from her debut novel, the award winning and deservedly richly praised 2007 debut `A Golden Age'.
The story is of Maya, her brother Sohail, and their beloved mother. The siblings have taken very different paths in the conflict, and we return to them here as Maya is coming home to Dhaka after being a doctor for a decade in the north of their new country. She is an independent and confident woman, who still wants to remain true to her revolutionary self; as opposed to her brother, who has taken the path of Muslim fundamentalism. Maya has little time for his faith, and rebels against it, especially where his young son Zaid is concerned.
Maya cannot tolerate or forgive her brother's seeming abandonment of his son after his wife's death in favour of his fervent religion. But she is not allowed to really look after Zaid or educate him either. It is only later on in the story that some of the full horrors of Sohail's war experiences are revealed, and offered by way of an explanation for his behaviour and his devotion to his religion, and rejection of his previously held beliefs.
Anam again weaves a wonderful story, which tells of the personal journeys of the different family members, mainly from the point of view of Maya herself, and meshes that with a fascinating insight into the war that ravaged that country. It is deeply engrossing and powerfully engaging.... Read more ›
The story is of Maya, her brother Sohail, and their beloved mother. The siblings have taken very different paths in the conflict, and we return to them here as Maya is coming home to Dhaka after being a doctor for a decade in the north of their new country. She is an independent and confident woman, who still wants to remain true to her revolutionary self; as opposed to her brother, who has taken the path of Muslim fundamentalism. Maya has little time for his faith, and rebels against it, especially where his young son Zaid is concerned.
Maya cannot tolerate or forgive her brother's seeming abandonment of his son after his wife's death in favour of his fervent religion. But she is not allowed to really look after Zaid or educate him either. It is only later on in the story that some of the full horrors of Sohail's war experiences are revealed, and offered by way of an explanation for his behaviour and his devotion to his religion, and rejection of his previously held beliefs.
Anam again weaves a wonderful story, which tells of the personal journeys of the different family members, mainly from the point of view of Maya herself, and meshes that with a fascinating insight into the war that ravaged that country. It is deeply engrossing and powerfully engaging.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I already knew a little about the author and I'd heard that the book was great but I had lots of difficulty getting hold of it, particularly the first part: A Golden Era. The novel itself was thought-provoking with tiny little twists here and there. But the subtlety in how the abuse at the madrasa was presented was really ingenious; although subtle in terms of vocabulary the topic carried such weight that it leaves the reader thinking how big an issue it may actually be. This is particularly significant as so little is openly discussed about this form of child abuse as an open subject in general. A fantastic read that opens up so many spheres of thought.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This is the follow-up book to Tahmima Anam's excellent A Golden Age. It follow the story of Maya and Sohail and their mother Rehana and what happened to them after the end of the Bengali War of Independence.
She uses the narrative device of two different time lines: the first in the immediate aftermath of the war in 1972 and the second in 1984. She shows how all have been affected by the war in different ways. Maya is cynical about the way things have turned out and is shocked and confused by her brother Sohail and his devout adherence to Islam. But even though she counts herself as an unbeliever she finds herself drawn into the spiritual atmosphere of the female followers of Sohail.
Feelings of despair about the new state of Bangladesh run through the book but fortunately there is a redemptive ending. The one false note in the plotting was Sohail's attitude to his young son Zaid whom he treats with disdain and neglect.
The Good Muslim is beautifully written - and tells a good story.
She uses the narrative device of two different time lines: the first in the immediate aftermath of the war in 1972 and the second in 1984. She shows how all have been affected by the war in different ways. Maya is cynical about the way things have turned out and is shocked and confused by her brother Sohail and his devout adherence to Islam. But even though she counts herself as an unbeliever she finds herself drawn into the spiritual atmosphere of the female followers of Sohail.
Feelings of despair about the new state of Bangladesh run through the book but fortunately there is a redemptive ending. The one false note in the plotting was Sohail's attitude to his young son Zaid whom he treats with disdain and neglect.
The Good Muslim is beautifully written - and tells a good story.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
The follow up to 'A Golden Age'
In Bangladesh, 1984, a young doctor, Maya, returns to her childhood home and is reunited with her family after many years apart. Read more
Published 5 days ago by K. Wright
4.0 out of 5 stars
Memorable Muslim
This is a book for those who want to experience the pain of revolution. It is a tough well written novel that mixes emotion with religious beliefs. Read more
Published 1 month ago by nickyb
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read
I just had to read this one after reading the first part. It is simply divine to read with explicit and intricate details. It is so emotional I ended up with tears. Read more
Published 2 months ago by naznin chowdhury
5.0 out of 5 stars
memorable
I found this to be a very thought provoking and interesting book. The story is told by other reviewers, but I read this slowly which is unusual for me, I needed to take time to... Read more
Published 3 months ago by robertag
5.0 out of 5 stars
BRILLIANT
loved this book would recomend it to everyone who wants to understand how people can be pushed into things they dont want to do and dont understand why
Published 3 months ago by Mrs. E. A. Robb
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Good Muslim
I chose this rating as although book arrived promptly and I enjoyed it there were pages missing in the middle of the book: 105-108 inclusive.
Published 4 months ago by Pat Price
4.0 out of 5 stars
The second book in the Bangladesh trilogy
I have just come back from a book group where we discussed this book, and the overall impression was that the shifting time frames had caused quite a bit of confusion. Read more
Published 7 months ago by DubaiReader
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thought provoking read
It provoked much discussion at our book group meeting. I found it easier to read than I expected and very interesting.
Published 7 months ago by Mrs. Lesley May
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful, but is it authentic?
Anam has written a wonderful account of the earliest years of Bangladesh's existence, both personal and taking a broad sweep over the whole country and its politics. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Max
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brillant
An excellent follow up to A Golden Age. Well written it descibes so well the after effects of war.
The way it flows through the family and lasts so much longer than the war... Read more
The way it flows through the family and lasts so much longer than the war... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Hathaway
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