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Horrors of genocide revealed in debut
By ANUPAMA KHAN
Wed Feb 27, 2008, 02:37 PM EST
I'm going to veer off the beaten college track this week for a book review.
If you've read The Kite Runner or watched Hotel Rwanda and The Last King of Scotland, you know there is a growing audience for emotionally riveting, slightly disturbing fiction based on world events from the recent past that have modern implications.
The Kite Runner covers the history of Afghanistan from the Russian invasion, through the end of the Cold War, to the reign of the Taliban, through the eyes of its imperfect protagonist.
Hotel Rwanda does the same with the Rwandan genocide, as a slightly selfish hotel manager turns into a hero. In The Last King of Scotland, a narcissistic womanizer tries to use his creepy influence over a dictator for the greater good. If you love a flawed hero struggling under tyranny or through a war or genocide or other manmade disaster, you should definitely read Tahmima Anam's debut novel, A Golden Age.
In brief summary, a Harvard-educated anthropologist writes about her courageous grandmother's experiences during the Bangladeshi Independence War. Because of my family's history and my growing interest in my heritage and all that jazz, I went into this book with some serious concerns. I was a little scared because the book was obviously written for the mainstream and I dreaded reading a preachy, cheap story that pandered to the masses.
To a certain extent, my fears were realized. Regarding the author's style, Anam uses a lot of Bangla words, rendered phonetically, to reinforce the ethnic factor. It felt like she used the trick too often. I know Bangla and I had difficulty deciphering some of the phrases. I feel like it would get frustrating for readers who don't have a working knowledge of the language and they would just skip over all the italicized parts, which would defeat the point. Also, the plot seemed a little contrived, a little exaggerated.
The novel is based on real events, but the narrator, Rehana, does a few too many good deeds to be entirely plausible (even though the events might actually have happened). In The Kite Runner, the protagonist rescues a single boy. In Hotel Rwanda, a single man harbors refugees. In The Last King of Scotland, a single forbidden love affair challenges a lunatic dictator. Rehana is much more industrious: she saves a young man from the authorities, harbors refugees, and has a forbidden love affair. The affair, in particular, was hard to believe. I understand why it was necessary for the plot and character development and theme and all that, but I just didn't buy it. Moreover, the narrator at points adopts a self-righteous (bordering on condescending) tone about her ability and desire to do good deeds, which is obnoxious.
On the other hand, I'm still glad I read the book. It was totally worth it. First, I read it quickly. Since the book isn't a huge time investment, you won't be too disappointed if you don't like it. Second, I was really excited for a book about the Bangladeshi Independence Movement because it isn't a very well known event. Despite genocide and war and armies burning villages and the whole thing (it looks like Vietnam, if you've seen pictures), no one really knows about it.
Anam's novel mentions the historical names and places without reading like a textbook or getting boring. Third, the blend of sadness and happiness, which leads to hopefulness at the end of the novel, was lovely to read. Fourth, the novel wasn't too cyclic. My biggest problem with The Kite Runner was the sheer volume of coincidences, that obnoxious tendency for every little detail to come full circle and reach a neat, predictable end. If you've read the novel, you know that the main character returns to Afghanistan as an adult and runs into an old man who knew his mother. Conveniently, he has a lovely chat with a bum on the sidewalk about his family while Taliban soldiers drive by. I expected A Golden Age to be similarly convenient and, thus, extremely annoying, but it wasn't at all. Anam keeps the plot moving (the advantage of having a heroine that does so many good deeds). Finally, and most importantly,
Anam handles the horror of genocide very tastefully. She describes many of the methods of torture employed in the war on one page, in four or five lines, in less than 50 words. Brutally and beautifully succinct, Anam doesn't dwell on gore and gruesomeness. She deals with the facts neatly then veers off into some airy metaphor about birds.
If you found The Kite Runner a little disturbing but kept reading because you knew it would be worth it in the end, then you will enjoy A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam.
Khan is a senior at North Attleborough High School and regular Free Press contributor.
