Exquisite . . . this work confirms Anam as one of our most important novelists * * Sunday Telegraph * *
The narrative shimmers with poetry. Anam seems to be a novelist not so much luxuriating in the act of writing as in total control of it, using just the right words to create her stunning story * * Independent * *
A lyrical, thought-provoking, powerful meditation on belief, love and loyalty * * Easy Living * *
An exceptional and searching look at the horrors of war * * Metro * *
Powerful and ambitious, The Good Muslim more than fulfils the promises of Tahmima Anam's celebrated debut, A Golden Age * * Guardian * *
A fascinating, intense and complex book * * The Lady * *
Provides some penetrating meditations on faith, war, linguistic and class hegemony, parenthood, sibling rivalry and love. One looks forward to the third volume of the trilogy. -- Claire Chambers * * Times Literary Supplement * *
A major new talent * * Observer * *
Impressive . . . Anam subtly handles the clash of opposing values to produce a powerful exploration of what it means to be radicalised as well as a moving depiction of the legacy of war. The Good Muslim more than confirms the promise apparent in her Commonwealth Writers' Prize-winning debut * * Financial Times * *
In this book of searing beauty, Tahmima Anam shows us a family searching for ways to navigate through the aftermath of war; in the process she takes us on an unforgettable journey through a young nation trying to define itself -- Kamila Shamsie, author of BURNT SHADOWS
What a superb novel. Its delicacy and power and breadth -- the way its compassion and grief keep complicating its anger -- I read it with heart in mouth * * Helen Garner, author of THE SPARE ROOM * *
Tahmima Anam's unflinching examination of the agonies of post-colonial nation-building sets the intimacy of personal life against a backdrop of national and religious conflict. Delicate, heart-wrenching and poetic, this is a novel of great poise and power -- Tash Aw, author of THE HARMONY SILK FACTORY and MAP OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD
Tahmima Anam's startlingly accomplished and gripping novel describes not only the tumult of a great historical event... but also the small but heroic struggles of individuals living in the shadow of revolution and war -- Pankaj Mishra on A Golden Age
Anam has done a service to her country ... No other writer has treated the subject with such clarity before, in English * * Times Literary Supplement on A Golden Age * *
In this striking debut novel ... Anam deftly weaves the personal and the political, giving the terrors of war spare, powerful treatment * * The New Yorker on A Golden Age * *
An assured, moving read * * The Times on A Golden Age * *
Beautifully told, intimate and touching; Anam has a knack for making you care so desperately for her characters that you admire their failings as much as their strengths * * Daily Mail on A Golden Age * *
Anam's prose is glowing and graceful throughout; whether detailing the degradations of a refugee camp, the tenderness of an unexpected love affair, or the exhilarated dread of a nation in cataclysm * * Guardian on A Golden Age * *
This is storytelling at its best ... A beautiful story of hope, heroism and human survival amid cruelty. Everyone should read this and learn * * Daily Express on A Golden Age * *
I couldn't tear myself away...the authenticity shines through Anam's beautiful, simple prose * * Harper's Bazaar on A Golden Age * *
A real page-turner, with a bravura, heart-stopping ending * * Telegraph on A Golden Age * *
A Bengali Suite Francaise -- Jonathan Freedland * * Newsnight Review on A Golden Age * *
What happens to a heart ravaged by war? What happens to the strongest bonds of familial love when a son or a brother walks down a path that seems incomprehensible? In this book of searing beauty, Tahmima Anam shows us a family searching for ways to navigate through these questions; in the process she takes us on an unforgettable journey through a young nation trying to define itself -- Kamila Shamsie, author of BURNT SHADOWS
An important novel * * Observer * *
Powerful and ambitious, The Good Muslim more than fulfils the promises of Tahmima Anam's celebrated debut, A Golden Age . . . Leisurely, dense and varied in its stylistic register, this is a darker and more reflective novel. -- Aamer Hussein * * Guardian * *
A fascinating, intense and complex book. * * The Lady * *
Anam is one of a generation of writers with a subcontinental heritage whose themes are politicised and universal. The Good Muslim uses a specific history to identify issues that resonate in places and times far beyond post-independence Bangladesh, and it is this pertinence that makes The Good Muslim not just an interesting novel but an important one. -- Bidisha * * Observer * *
Canongate is to be congratulated for bringing this novel to us. Good novels invite you to think and feel. This is just such a one. You live with the characters and they leave you with questions. -- Allan Massie * * Scotsman * *
A lyrical, thought-provoking, powerful meditation on belief, love and loyalty. * * Easy Living * *
Anam subtly handles the clash of opposing values to produce a powerful exploration of what it means to be radicalised as well as a moving depiction of the legacy of war. The Good Muslim more than confirms the promise apparent in her Commonwealth Writers' Prize-winning debut A Golden Age. -- Adrian Turpin * * Financial Times * *
..a hugely readable story, packed with memorable set pieces and a full range of entirely believable characters -- James Walton * * Daily Mail * *
Thought-provoking ... much to tell us about nationalism, the struggle for a sense of identity and the troubled country Bangladesh remains today. * * The Tablet * *
Anam is clearly a writer for the future: someone with lots to say, and the ability, and time, to say it. That, too, ought to be something to celebrate. * * Eleutherophobia Blog * *
