Star Books & Literature

Star Books & Literature Book news, reviews, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and opinion from The Daily Star newspaper.

But I was no Kali.I held back the storm.And for that,You burned me,With stares, stares like daggers,With silences, silen...
16/09/2025

But I was no Kali.
I held back the storm.
And for that,
You burned me,
With stares, stares like daggers,
With silences, silences deeper than riverbeds,
With rickshaw rides.
Rides that felt like sacrificial rites.
But still, Dhaka,
I remain.
-Maliha Fairuz Mahi

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When I was twenty-three, the letter brokeinto fragments in my hands. We make altars whereverwe go. At night I surround m...
15/09/2025

When I was twenty-three, the letter broke
into fragments in my hands. We make altars wherever
we go. At night I surround myself with the desire
to disappear, opening my window to the dogs barking
outside, there's the gap between two buildings where
moss grows in the rain. I imagine myself laying there, an altar.
-Raian Abedin

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In a specially designated room at the Oslo Public Library, 100 hidden manuscripts by renowned authors like Margaret Atwo...
14/09/2025

In a specially designated room at the Oslo Public Library, 100 hidden manuscripts by renowned authors like Margaret Atwood, Elif Shafak, Han Kang, Ocean Vuong, and most recently Amitav Ghosh, among many others, will be shelved. These manuscripts can only be read in the year 2114. This is the Future Library Project, a public artwork conceived in the summer of 2014 by Katie Peterson.
-Iftehaz Yeasir Iftee

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[Photo: Courtesy]

Catch today's issue of in print or read online at the link in the comments below!
13/09/2025

Catch today's issue of in print or read online at the link in the comments below!

With the demise of Badruddin Umar, Bangladesh has lost one of its finest intellectual powerhouses. Bangladesh will surel...
11/09/2025

With the demise of Badruddin Umar, Bangladesh has lost one of its finest intellectual powerhouses. Bangladesh will surely miss his writings, which were sharp and often brutal. He will be remembered for his contribution to Bangladeshi historical literature, to the political scene, and to the countless readers like me who he inspired to take a critical lens toward the establishment.
-Sadman Ahmed Siam.

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Catch today's issue of in print or read online at the link in the comments below.
11/09/2025

Catch today's issue of in print or read online at the link in the comments below.

"Why do you weep, mortal man?" the sea asked him in her breathy voice. "The world is great and beautiful."The man smiled...
10/09/2025

"Why do you weep, mortal man?" the sea asked him in her breathy voice. "The world is great and beautiful."

The man smiled. "Yes, it was."

"Was?"

"Not for me. Not anymore. Not without her."
-Sarazeen Saif Ahana

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On September 6, what began as a sweltering day in Dhaka concluded with an inspiring launch of Breaking Dreams (Bengal Bo...
09/09/2025

On September 6, what began as a sweltering day in Dhaka concluded with an inspiring launch of Breaking Dreams (Bengal Books, 2025), the latest anthology by eminent writer Dr Niaz Zaman. Hosted at Bengal Shilpalay, the event introduced a collection of 12 short stories—eight previously published and four new additions—that capture the intricacies of everyday Bangladeshi life through accessible and layered storytelling.
-Sejal Rahman

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"Chakravarti with her selection uses translation to bridge cultures, bringing a myriad of colours within Bengal together...
08/09/2025

"Chakravarti with her selection uses translation to bridge cultures, bringing a myriad of colours within Bengal together for the reader. She has selected these stories with care. In an earlier interview, Chakravarti had claimed: "For me the most important consideration when taking up a translation project has been the literary value of the piece. I had to enjoy the process of translation and could only do so if I thought the subject worthwhile…The process also intensified my interest in Bengal and the evolution of its society, literature and culture.," writes Mitali Chakravarty.

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It leans closewhere you kneel in grief,where you dance without name,where you burn,and still offer light.So do not call ...
07/09/2025

It leans close
where you kneel in grief,
where you dance without name,
where you burn,
and still offer light.
So do not call me brother by blood,
nor enemy by script.
-Bipra Prasun Das

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"Deftly woven into these intimate cultural snapshots are larger themes like racism and climate anxiety. The stories are ...
05/09/2025

"Deftly woven into these intimate cultural snapshots are larger themes like racism and climate anxiety. The stories are ordered so that the reader begins with the lighter, wittier ones," writes Sabrina Fatma Ahmad.

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