Author: Taslima Nasreen
Exile is the poignant story of the fire-brand author Taslima Nasreen, who does not shy away from calling a spade a spade, despite the risk of repercussions. I got this book as part of the Flipkart Book Review Program.
The very first words and sentences of the book will hook you and reel you in as you read this surreal book, which chronicles the life and times that Taslima Nasreen led as a result of speaking or rather writing her mind. She has been on the run for more than 20 years and hence, Exile is the apt name for her memoirs.
She lived in India for just 7 months and this book is about the dark and sometimes unrealistic times that she saw during that period. The political factions wanted to oust her and silence her and drive her out of Kolkata.Taslima Nasreen paints a poignant, surreal and sad picture with her powerful words and horrifying experiences at the hands of the political-public who don't have the intellectual capacity to appreciate her mind, words and liberated thoughts.
She is called names, she is insulted, she is driven out of her home in Kolkata, but she just can't be silenced. And that is proven with this powerful book, which opens a Pandora's box of those harrowing seven months.
The writing is taut, crisp and will always keep the reader on the edge as to what is about to happen next. Some of the words will distress the reader and some will make them hang their head in shame because of the treatment meted out to the fiery author is inhumane, at the least. But one thing is sure, this book will remain with the reader for a long long time, in their minds and in their spirit, even after they put it down after reading the last page.
The very first words and sentences of the book will hook you and reel you in as you read this surreal book, which chronicles the life and times that Taslima Nasreen led as a result of speaking or rather writing her mind. She has been on the run for more than 20 years and hence, Exile is the apt name for her memoirs.
She lived in India for just 7 months and this book is about the dark and sometimes unrealistic times that she saw during that period. The political factions wanted to oust her and silence her and drive her out of Kolkata.Taslima Nasreen paints a poignant, surreal and sad picture with her powerful words and horrifying experiences at the hands of the political-public who don't have the intellectual capacity to appreciate her mind, words and liberated thoughts.
She is called names, she is insulted, she is driven out of her home in Kolkata, but she just can't be silenced. And that is proven with this powerful book, which opens a Pandora's box of those harrowing seven months.
The writing is taut, crisp and will always keep the reader on the edge as to what is about to happen next. Some of the words will distress the reader and some will make them hang their head in shame because of the treatment meted out to the fiery author is inhumane, at the least. But one thing is sure, this book will remain with the reader for a long long time, in their minds and in their spirit, even after they put it down after reading the last page.
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1 comment:
Thanks for a fair and interesting review. Liked it.
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