What I read and what I am and how I see the world and its people all of it has been shaped by these contrasting yet passionate adventures of reading with my family.
Set in 1990s Dhaka against the backdrop of the military occupation, the novella follows the lives of a young university professor, his wife, and their house help, Phulbanu. The story is narrated entirely from Phulbanu’s perspective.
The poetic journey of the eponymous novel, published in 1960, starts as soon as Shabnam and Majnun meet on the streets of Kabul. A love story unfolds, with Shabnam speaking in verses of different poets.
Four of Arefin’s novels have been published so far, alongside three books of poetry and critically acclaimed translations of the Iliad and of Kafka’s short stories.