Images of Bangladesh in Niaz Zaman’s Novels

Authors

  • Sabiha Huq

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31436/asiatic.v12i1.1206

Abstract

Niaz Zaman, a renowned Bangladeshi writer in English, has employed realism in all three novels she has thus far written: The Crooked Neem Tree (1982), A Different Sita (2011) and The Baromashi Tapes (2011). Against the backdrop of Bangladesh at different points in time, Zaman’s novels focus on women’s struggles in ways that according to critics like Toril Moi, may seem to be a feministic realism in woman’s fiction. The worlds depicted in her novels differ in a variety of ways but not in focal themes, as she draws upon women’s experiences in pre†and postâ€independence Bangladesh with a singularity of style, adhering to historical facts. Representation of regular lives with the most commonplace details like clothing, food, rituals, daily habits, etc. is sometimes mingled with romance, rebellion and accidents; and this blend infuses her stories with glorious and extraordinary journeys of ordinary women. Quite expectedly, imperfections of human life also become significant parts of such narratives of lived experiences, and that often becomes an aesthetic experience in Zaman’s fiction. The women in her novels are given as much moral strength as needed for women to become leading figures in events carried out single-handedly without the presence of men. This paper is an attempt at reading how Zaman has used her fictional work to depict an essentially Bangladeshi reality.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2018-07-09

How to Cite

Huq, S. (2018). Images of Bangladesh in Niaz Zaman’s Novels. Asiatic: IIUM Journal of English Language and Literature, 12(1), 9–24. https://doi.org/10.31436/asiatic.v12i1.1206

Issue

Section

Section II: Articles and Interviews on Bangladeshi Writing in English