‘Shadow and Bone’: new member of the "poor book adaptation club"

This season tries to cover too much ground and misplaces its focus in the process.
25 March 2023, 10:47 AM

Everything you need to know about Sehri Tales 2023

Sehri Tales has established itself as a Ramadan tradition for writers in Bangladesh. The rules are simple: each night at midnight, for the entire month leading up to Eid-ul-Fitr, Ahmad shares a prompt, and participants have until 6 AM (sunrise) to write original poetry, flash fiction, or create unique art, and then share it online with the hashtag #sehritales2023.
24 March 2023, 09:18 AM

An invaluable study of Bangladesh's political history

"In Fool’s Paradise" is aptly named as it gives us a glimpse of post-independence Bangladesh, a young nation still struggling to find its identity amidst post-war blows.
23 March 2023, 04:08 AM

A refugee's tale in Calcutta

Unlike many of the war refugees from Bangladesh in Calcutta, he felt no urge to be involved in the war. He had fled the country to save his life, not to participate in the fight.
23 March 2023, 03:56 AM

Reading as a form of resistance: Some anecdotes from the 1971 war

After the war, the library authorities placed advertisements requesting people to return any books from the library that they might have in their possession, but the response was poor. The library's hundred-year-old collection was lost forever.
23 March 2023, 03:31 AM

5 new books that explore family life in fiction

Among the new books we’re excited to read this season, these March releases hold special promise. 
22 March 2023, 13:00 PM

In her new book, Maria Chaudhuri reimagines Pohela Boishakh for kids

Illustrated by Kazi Istela Imam, Nobo Opens a Door embraces the occasion of Pohela Boishakh—an event that is dear to many.
22 March 2023, 11:26 AM

Into the rhyme and reason of poetry

To be human is to be a poet. And I will tell you why.
21 March 2023, 13:55 PM

'Teestar Kanna' brings Teesta shoal residents to tears

Poet and writer Ishor Dulon Roy, author of Teestar Kanna, told The Daily Star that many of his relatives live on the Teesta shoal. Once they were all rich, all now lost to the river erosion.
20 March 2023, 10:32 AM

‘Monstrous fancies, misshapen dreams’: My ambivalence with ‘Dorian Gray’

“How tragic it would be if you were wasted”, made me smile in a melancholic way. I know moments when “unnecessary things are our only necessities”. And I’ve not been hesitant to give “rebellion its fascination” and “disobedience its charm.”
19 March 2023, 12:30 PM

Home and its place in Bangla literature

When we study the effects of urbanisation on formerly relevant concepts of home, newer images pop up and we find them coexisting with the previously established one.
18 March 2023, 15:00 PM

The University Press Limited heads to Chittagong

On Saturday, March 18, UPL will inaugurate its new sales centre in Chittagong at Jamal Khan Road’s Sanmar Spring Garden.
16 March 2023, 15:00 PM

A memoir that helps understand development

Perhaps the most important contribution of the book lies in providing intimate insights into how NGOs work in Bangladesh.
16 March 2023, 09:13 AM

Can ideology win over desire?

Set in 1990s Dhaka against the backdrop of the military occupation, the novella follows the lives of a young university professor, his wife, and their house help, Phulbanu. The story is narrated entirely from Phulbanu’s perspective. 
16 March 2023, 08:56 AM

5 new books to read this week

Set in the backdrop of a nameless forest, the narrative of the play 'Ekti Moragachh O Charjon Narir Shopnobhongo' revolves around characters of William Shakespeare’s creation.
16 March 2023, 00:00 AM

A diverse longlist for the 2023 International Booker Prize

Novels from India, the Caribbean, Ukraine, Spain, Bulgaria, Ivory Coast, France, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, China, Norway and South Korea in the longlist.
15 March 2023, 15:08 PM

How Netflix’s ‘Shadow and Bone’ adaptation can be improved

Season 2 of 'Shadow and Bone' will be out on Netflix on March 16—how can it do better justice to the texts than Season 1?
15 March 2023, 12:40 PM

Grow Your Reader Foundation raises the 'Flag of Peace'

Grow Your Reader Foundation instals mobile, street, and online library stations in different corners of Bangladesh, and has been providing teacher training facilities since 2016.
13 March 2023, 14:34 PM

Love the Oscars winners? Here’s what you should read

The book behind the Oscar-winning adaptations, and books about the history of the award
13 March 2023, 11:36 AM

To survive is to hope, in Nasreen Jahan’s ‘Urukku’

Originally published in 1993, 'Urukku' by Nasreen Jahan is a dive into the life of a young woman and a powerful commentary on human need.
12 March 2023, 13:00 PM