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235 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
At first it seems like a war-time story but you soon find out it's not limited to just this time frame. The narrator,Nasrin, takes her own liberty on time by going in and out of plots as she pleases. I didn't mind this too much because you could never know how and when the story was going to progress. The narration would rewind and fast-forward so many times that sometimes it would be difficult to decipher at which time in Nasrin's upbringing it was occurring. The only clues to this seemed to be where her family was residing at the time and who was the maid in their house.
I wish the book was more organized so it flowed fluidly. At certain times it felt like there was repetition like when a brief character was introduced each time they came up in the plot. Because it seemed so choppy, othertimes I wasn't sure if a character was new or previously mentioned. I think a second reading would have a more powerful impact because you would be more aware of the connections through time and relations.
But she is so frank and blatantly open about certain topics that it's surprising she is writing through a Bengali's perspective. Nasrin doesn't leave taboo issues untouched either it be about religion, class or gender. Although throughout her girlhood Nasrin is characterized as being shy, she grows out of it by unbashfully coming out about the inner sufferings people in her society are too ashamed to divulge.