thanzeela's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
It was a great book to read; beautifully written and on a topic that needs to be spoken about more. The author writes in a way that lets you make your own judgments and reasonings on the characters and their actions. The only reason I didn’t give it 5/5 is because I would have loved to delve more into why Rehana’s relationship with her son and her daughter are so different. Overall, this book was a really good read and will stick with me for a long time!
ria_mhrj's review against another edition
4.0
Here are my thoughts in no specific order:
1) What a deceptively clever book, masquerading as a simple story - a war as told by a mother. The book is very readable and evocative and I got lulled into mistaking this book for simple, until the final sentence smacked me in the face and highlighted themes and echoes I had clearly missed.
2) This book made me so hungry, the food sounded so delicious.
3) I really don't know how I feel about Rehana. She's got this drive to do anything to keep her kids safe, but her frayed relationship with Maya makes you wonder what the cost was. I wish this relationship had been better explored so I could better understand why she valued Sohail more highly, besides the obvious.
4) I am devastated that nobody slapped Mrs Chowdhury. She was the actual worst, the agent of so many awful situations in this book (I'm even going to blame her for a creepy blind man getting robbed because she was the engineer of that grim situation in the first place). The Silvi plot thread was disturbing and topical in our current climate, and I felt like more could have been explored here.
5) I am very ignorant of much Asian history, thanks to a British education that focuses on Britain and not much else. I want to learn more about why on earth Pakistan got to claim territory so far away from its own borders, and more about the war I'm so clueless about beyond this book.
6) The significance of the title has gone over my head. Curious to see what the rest of book club think.
7) I am sad that the Major had to nobly sacrifice himself, I was hoping for a happier resolution.
A very engaging and thought-provoking read, I'm looking forward to discussing it with the rest of book club.
1) What a deceptively clever book, masquerading as a simple story - a war as told by a mother. The book is very readable and evocative and I got lulled into mistaking this book for simple, until the final sentence smacked me in the face and highlighted themes and echoes I had clearly missed.
2) This book made me so hungry, the food sounded so delicious.
3) I really don't know how I feel about Rehana. She's got this drive to do anything to keep her kids safe, but her frayed relationship with Maya makes you wonder what the cost was. I wish this relationship had been better explored so I could better understand why she valued Sohail more highly, besides the obvious.
4) I am devastated that nobody slapped Mrs Chowdhury. She was the actual worst, the agent of so many awful situations in this book (I'm even going to blame her for a creepy blind man getting robbed because she was the engineer of that grim situation in the first place). The Silvi plot thread was disturbing and topical in our current climate, and I felt like more could have been explored here.
5) I am very ignorant of much Asian history, thanks to a British education that focuses on Britain and not much else. I want to learn more about why on earth Pakistan got to claim territory so far away from its own borders, and more about the war I'm so clueless about beyond this book.
6) The significance of the title has gone over my head. Curious to see what the rest of book club think.
7) I am sad that the Major had to nobly sacrifice himself, I was hoping for a happier resolution.
A very engaging and thought-provoking read, I'm looking forward to discussing it with the rest of book club.
claireoosthoek's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
laura_london_78's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kycerae's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
haleema's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
2.0
zaheerah's review against another edition
4.0
While I was looking for non-fiction novels about the history of Bangladesh, I came across this. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for but, nonetheless, I enjoyed it just as much. A Golden Age tells the story of the Haque family’s experiences during the war from the perspective of Rehana. A Golden Age begins with a newly widowed Rehana who had been declared unfit by a judge and has had her children taken away. By the second chapter, 20 or s0 years have passed. It's now 1971 and her children have returned, but the shame of what she had to do stays with her all these years. The novel follows Rehana's life during Bangladesh's war for independence. As her children become politically involved, Rehana finds herself drawn into the war as well. While her children are motivated politically, Rehana's desire for her children's safety drives her through the entire novel.
Through A Golden Age, Rehana is more of a witness than an active member, like her children. We never witness the full atrocities that the people suffered but we do encounter the result of them through her eyes as we follow her from her home to refugee camps. And not knowing fully what the Pakistan army was doing, we're thrown into the same tense situation is Rehana in. We learn the real costs of war through the lives of this semi-real family. (I believe Rehana was based on Anam's grandmother and her experiences) I loved the way she described Bangladesh, the culture, the food, the landscape. My favourite part was beginning of the novel and how Anam introduced the land and country. It was, at most times, so calming and beautiful before everything goes terribly wrong.
No one should really think of this as an actual account of what happened but an introduction that can incite further research. A Golden Age is more personal and human, and I felt plenty of emotion while reading Rehana's story.
Through A Golden Age, Rehana is more of a witness than an active member, like her children. We never witness the full atrocities that the people suffered but we do encounter the result of them through her eyes as we follow her from her home to refugee camps. And not knowing fully what the Pakistan army was doing, we're thrown into the same tense situation is Rehana in. We learn the real costs of war through the lives of this semi-real family. (I believe Rehana was based on Anam's grandmother and her experiences) I loved the way she described Bangladesh, the culture, the food, the landscape. My favourite part was beginning of the novel and how Anam introduced the land and country. It was, at most times, so calming and beautiful before everything goes terribly wrong.
No one should really think of this as an actual account of what happened but an introduction that can incite further research. A Golden Age is more personal and human, and I felt plenty of emotion while reading Rehana's story.