Humayun Azad

This is two books posing as one: a memoir from a son (converted into a daughter for no good reason when it was translated) about his father who disappeared during the 1971 revolution that resulted in an independent Bangladesh. The first third is written from the point of view of a very small child about how she sees and experiences her father. The middle third is largely written about the events of 1971 (by a daughter whose voice has suddenly gotten rather inexplicably older). The last third rather shakily tries to combine the first two. Notwithstanding my reservations about this particular book, I’d be interested in reading more from Azad—but there’s nothing else available in English.… (més)

A poignant novella told from the perspective of a very young girl living through Bangladesh's war of independence in the early 1970s. The fact that the story is told from the uncomprehending perspective of such a young child, and because I admittedly know quite little about the history of Bangladesh, meant that I Remember Abbu came across a tad more generic to me than maybe it should have. The highly repetitive nature of some passages didn't help. At least in English translation, perhaps readable more as a historical or cultural artefact than as a piece of fiction.… (més)