A Golden Age

In the spring of 1971, Rehana Haque is throwing a party for her two children. What she does not know is that, after today, their lives will change forever. For this is East Pakistan, a country erupting into war. As she struggles to keep her children safe, Rehana will find herself faced with a heartbreaking dilemma. Set against the backdrop of the Bangladesh War of Independence, A Golden Age is an unforgettable story of revolution, hope and unexpected heroism, and of the great lengths that can be traversed in the name of love.

'Beautifully observed ... lingers in the memory ... Daily life in Dhaka - from gin rummy to gardening - is captured with skill and tenderness' -- Sunday Telegraph 'This is storytelling at its best ... A beautiful story of hope, heroism and human survival amid cruelty. Everyone should read this and learn' -- Helen Lederer, Daily Express 'My reader adored this Guardian and Costa-shortlisted debut and was happy to compare it with The God of Small Things and Brick Lane' -- Bookseller 'Anam achieves a delicacy and tenderness in conjuring the "threads of feeling" between people, a poetic precision of images: kites floating, huts sinking into the sea, "hungry, cracked earth". From the wreckage and destruction grows a voice of real eloquence' -- Anita Sethi, Independent 'Anam has created for Bangladesh what Romesh Gunesekera managed for Sri Lanka: a ballad for perserverance ... A Golden Age pays tribute, with sensitivity and restrained passion, to those who fought for one such arbour: a country to call home' -- Christian House, Independent on Sunday 'Anam has her own distinctive voice ... the authenticity shines through Anam's beautiful, simple prose' -- Martha Kearney, Harper's Bazaar 'A stunning novel lays bare a mother's ordeal in the gulf between the two Pakistans' -- Observer 'A Golden Age compellingly twists the personal and the historical, humming with handed down wisdom' -- Richard Godwin, Literary Review 'Vivid ... momentous change and heartbreaking dilemmas' -- Publishing News 'I'd put a few bob on Tahmima Anam -- the extract from her novel-in-progress ... is a vivid and intriguing slice of Bangladesh in 1959' (Written following the publication of Bedford Square, an anthology of new writing from Poet Laureate Andrew Motion's Creative Writing Programme at Royal Holloway, which included an extract from A Golden Age) -- The Times 20060201 'A Bengali Suite Francaise' -- Jonathan Freedland, Newsnight Review 20060201 'A steely tale of how one family deals with political unrest ... Moving and beautifully written' -- Woman 20060201 'Anam writes with a poetic lyricism that is both seductively romantic and explores troubling themes and violent truths with searing verisimilitude. An outstanding debut that glows with the golden hue of the title' -- Easy Living 20060201 'The book touches on love, devotion and hope' -- Hephizibah Anderson, Vogue 20060201 'A moving novel of deceptive simplicity and strength' -- Waterstone's Books Quarterly 20060201 'Anam deftly balances the story of a nation against that of a family' -- Kamila Shamsie, Guardian 20060201 'A Golden Age is an ambitious and powerful debut' -- Natasha Tripney, New Statesman 20060201 'Anam's novel flows easily, packing in a wealth of history as well as attention to detail that effortlessly make the image come alive ... An assured, moving read' -- Sarah Birke, The Times 20060201 'A real page-tuner, with a bravura, heart stopping ending' -- Sunday Telegraph/ Seven 20060201 'This book is by turn moving, sad, but always absorbing' -- Good Book Guide 20060201 'With A Golden Age, Anam is reminding Bangladeshis born, like her, after the war just what independence was all about and what the hopes and aspirations of their parents were before corruption ate them away' -- Tim Cribb, South China Morning Post 20060201 'Anam has done a service to her country ... No other writer has treated the subject with such clarity before, in English' -- TLS 20060201 'I had tears in my eyes' -- Woman's Own 20060201 'Talented debut novelist Anam has written a striking story of a spirited mother struggling to bring up her children, set against the turbulent backdrop of Bangladesh's 1971 war of liberation' -- Financial Times 20060201 'Anam has done a service to her country ... No other writer has treated the subject with such clarity before, in English' -- Times Literary Supplement 20060201 'Anam is an intelligent, evocative and subtle writer and her tale of war fr

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