Tahmima Anam

Asha Ray had a huge crush on Cyrus Jones in high school, and when they meet again while she's in grad school, everything seems to fall into place. Cyrus creates rituals, particularly for people who don't follow any particular kind of faith but want to have something meaningful in their life. When Asha and Cyrus's friend Jules create an app that does the same - first asking questions of the users to see what's important to them, and then suggestion a ritual for a special event be it a show more funeral, a wedding, or something else - they have to convince a reluctant Cyrus to go along with it. But as they become more and more successful, it's Asha who starts wondering if all this was really worth it.

There is a lot to unpack in this story. I kept thinking about the title, "The Startup Wife", whose meaning seems to shift was Asha and Cyrus's roles change during the life of their startup. It makes you question whether something started with the right intentions can ever stay "pure" as it becomes more successful - and is that because of our society, because of individual's choices, or something in between? What was inevitable and what wasn't? And ultimately, I was cheering for Asha as she grows and changes, grappling with her role and culpability. This would make an excellent book club choice. show less

Book 2 of the trilogy: the civil war has ended in a brand new country Bangladesh, but war wounds deeply affect siblings Maya and Sohail and their relationship with one another. Told in 2 timeframes, just after the war in the early 1970s, and in 1984, when Maya returns home after a decade fleeing home in anger at what her brother has become. Their stories unwind through time. Tying their stories together is Sohail’s young son Zaid, and Maya’s deep affection for him. This is a very sad show more story, with recollections of war crimes (Maya was a doctor and Sohail a soldier during the civil war), and crushing family trauma. But it is told empathetically and beautifully. I’m very glad to have read it, and even went off to the bookstore today to look for the third book (no luck). Highly recommended. show less

As the story opens, Rehana Haque is a widow living in Dhaka. Her husband’s death has left her unmoored. Unable to care for her two young children, the court orders her to send them to West Pakistan, where her brother-in-law and his wife take them in. Ten years later, in 1971, she is financially able to retrieve her children and bring them back to East Pakistan. Just after the children return, the family is embroiled in the Bangladesh War of Liberation. This is a character-driven narrative show more focused on the conflict between West and East Pakistan, and the impact of war on ordinary people.

It is mostly set in 1971 and told from the perspective of Rehana, a Muslim mother of two – seventeen-year-old Sohail and nineteen-year-old Maya. Sohail becomes involved in the resistance, and Maya observes and documents the war from a female perspective. Rehana’s main motivation is to protect her children, but as the war progresses, she transforms from a passive observer to an active participant in the independence movement. Themes include roles of women in wartime, identity (personal, cultural, and national), sacrifice, and survival.

Anam has done a nice job of combining personal drama with historic events. She provides insight into the independence movement and highlights the role of civilians in the liberation struggle. The storyline includes a variety of Bengali culture and traditions, including food, music, poetry, and language. It examines the role of religion and politics in the origination and progression of the conflict, including the violence perpetrated against Hindus. It provides details of daily life in Dhaka during the war.

For me, the primary strengths include complex character development and vivid sensory descriptions. Within the storyline, Anam provides some background of the war, but I think the book will be more enjoyable if the reader comes to it with at least a basic level of knowledge. I am impressed by the author’s ability to humanize a larger political situation, which helped me feel what it was like to live through such an awful time. I understand the second book in the series goes back to events leading up to Partition (1947). I am not normally a reader of books in a series, but this one is so well done that I will be seeking out the other two. show less

Tahmima Anam's fourth novel is an intriguing mix. It's a love story wrapped up in a cautionary story about tech start-ups, with a side theme of dealing with sexism mixed in. All this, along with warm vignettes about the main character's immigrant family. It's a witty, observant, infuriating, and eye-opening novel.
The main character is Asha, a young computer scientist who has worked hard to build a future. Halfway through her PhD and dreaming of running her own lab, she runs into her old show more high-school crush, Cyrus, a long-haired, free thinking genius who didn't even notice her in high school. But he does now, and a hot, whirlwind romance-marriage ensues.
They form a tight trio with their friend Jules, living in Cambridge in his house. Cyrus is a self-taught, world religion-ritual guru and he creates meaningful life event ceremonies for people. Asha thinks up an ingenious idea: to build a social networking app that could give life meaning, offer personal rituals, and create connection for millions of people. With Asha as the algorithm wizard, Jules as the creative entrepreneur, and with Cyrus' charisma and drive, they move to New York and succeed big.
Asha should be happy - running a company, married to the love of her life, right? Well, there are prices to this kind of success.
I enjoyed the interludes with her Bengali family in New York a lot. There are a lot of inside glimpses about start-ups and finding investors and some scathing depictions about who has the power in the boardrooms. It's a good book - kind of sobering that the novel ends right when the Covid pandemic has started. I wonder how the pandemic will be described in fiction in upcoming years. show less