The World in My Hands, a novel written by Kazi Anis Ahmed, publisher of the Bengal Lights literary journal, was launched yesterday.
The novel, published by Random House India, is Ahmed’s second book.
The World in My Hands is a political satire chronicling the fate of two friends who find their bonds bitterly tested when they are caught on opposite sides of a crisis that upends their country’s social order.
Released in South Asia (and worldwide as e-book) by publishing giant Random House’s Asian subsidiary, the book has already garnered high praise. Fellow Bangladeshi writer Tahmima Anam, author of The Good Muslim, describes it as darkly funny, heralding Ahmed as a strong new voice in English writing from Bangladesh. Noted Indian politician and author Shashi Tharoor describes the novel as a poignant and insightful page-turner.
Discussing the issues brought up in his book, which has a fictional setting, Ahmed said, “Our culture of rhetoric and debate needs more maturation. We go too quickly and easily to ad hominem attacks. When we read something, if the writer is relatively unknown to us and taking a position we don’t like, we immediately start looking for clues as to what might be their party leaning. And the minute we find them, we dismiss the person and their work as a whole.”
The World in My Hands is priced at Tk. 600 and is being distributed in Bangladesh through Bengal Lights Books (BLB). The book can be found in major bookstores around Dhaka, including The Bookworm, Omni Books and Boi Bichitra, as well as other outlets including Jatra, Aranya and Red Shift Coffee Lounge.
His debut collection of short stories, Goodnight, Mr. Kissinger was published by UPL and Ricochet Books recently.
More information on the book and the author can be found on the author’s website, kanisahmed.com and Facebook page, facebook.com/k.anis.ahmed.writer.