What readers think of A Golden Age, plus links to write your own review.

I enjoyed reading A Golden Age. The author did an excellent job of telling a family story, particularly of a mother's devotion to her children. This was told in the midst of the creation of the country of Bangladesh. I knew very little of the history of this country, and found it interesting in this context. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction.

A Golden Age is an eye opening account of a time and place in history that I knew nothing about - Bangladesh's war of independence from Pakistan in the 1970's, Ms Anam has vividly captured the flavor and atmosphere of the general public at the time through the eyes of the main character and her family. This book conveys the deep divides that existed culturally and historically at that time as well as the triumph of the human spirit and gives an understanding and appreciation for the country of Bangladesh.

I simply could not put this book down. The lyrical and beautiful writing make you feel sympathetic towards the characters. It's about a mother's love during the 1971 Bangladesh war.

While reading A Golden Age I kept making mental comparisons to what I read in the newspapers about the current war in Iraq - religious intolerance, cultural misunderstanding and families damaged by violence. I was very unfamiliar with any history of Bangladesh so I enjoyed learning about this part of the world as well as the story about Rehana, her family and her neighbors at this time in history. After finishing the book I went on line to learn more about Bangladesh and Pakistan.



I would recommend this book for book clubs since there are a number of issues and challenges the different characters face that book club members may not all agree with, creating great topics for discussion.

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did I became immersed in it. This beautiful story of a mother and her children really resonated with me. The lengths that Rehana will go to in order to protect her children, and how far she will venture from her comfort zone in order to do so, is a testament to the love that parents have for their children. This love is mirrored in her children's and eventually her love for the newly formed Bangladesh. A beautiful, sad tale of love and war and the lengths to which people will go for what is foremost in their hearts.

Interesting book worth a read at a time when people should attempt to understand other peoples cultures. About Bangladesh's separation from Pakistan, of a widow's maternal instincts to her children and a brutal war in which they are all involved. Although fiction, it raises many questions of everyday living. It is written in the English of a bygone empire and gives a good chance for the reader to learn what unusual phrasing mean.

Meet Rehana Haque. A widowed mother of two in 1970s East Pakistan, Rehana would do anything for her children. Shortly after her husband's death, Rehana allowed her brother-in-law to take custody of her two children for a year, and she never lets herself forget it. She is a devoted mother, perhaps to a fault, and the unchanging love of a mother for her children is at the forefront of this novel about the war for Bangladesh's independence.

This novel starts out strong, but without a baseline knowledge of the Bangladesh War for Independence, the reader could easily feel a little lost. Also, I had a very hard time making a connection with Rehana's two children, Sohail and Maya. I found that I didn't really care what happened to the characters in the novel.

Luckily, the second half of the novel takes on a suspenseful edge as the war and the Haque family's involvement in the resistance increases. The last chapters are page turners indeed, and makes this book worth reading.