A Golden Age CD: A Novel

“In this striking debut novel . . . Anam deftly weaves the personal and the political, giving the terrors of war spare, powerful treatment while lyrically depicting the way in which the struggle for freedom allows Rehana to discover both her strength and her heart.” (The New Yorker)

“A vibrant first novel...A story that is both intimately close to the family and large enough to encompass a revolution.” (Denver Post)

“Told with great skill and urgency...Spellbinding in its sense of quiet foreboding...Anam has written a story about powerful events. But it is her descriptions of the small, unheralded moments, the ones slipping effortlessly between the interstices of major conflagrations, which truly touch the heart.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

“Readable and well crafted . . . Compelling . . . A generous act of creative empathy . . . Anam does not flinch from complexity and horror of a more intimate nature than the details of atrocities.” (Washington Post Book World)

“A GOLDEN AGE has everything an epic should have...[Anam] is able to convey the larger story of politics and war against a much smaller and more intimate story.” (San Jose Mercury News)

“A glittering debut...Readers of Khaled Hosseini’s brutal but magnificent A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS will find similar pleasures in Anam’s book.” (St. Petersburg Times)

“Written with marvelous control and understatement, this first novel impressed me with its maturity.” (Women's Review of Books)

“eventful, exotic, intelligent, and romantic” (Entertainment Weekly)

“Tahmima Anam’s startlingly accomplished and gripping novel describes not only the tumult of a great historical event...but also the small but heroic struggles of individuals living in the shadow of revolution and war.” (Pankaj Mishra)

“[A] wonderful addition to the growing list of novels that seek, in some way, to help us understand the history and people of South Asia.” (USA Today)

As young widow Rehana Haque awakes one March morning, she might be forgiven for feeling happy. Her children are almost grown, the city is buzzing with excitement after recent elections. Change is in the air.

But no one can foresee what will happen in the days and months that follow. For this is East Pakistan in 1971, a country on the brink of war. And this family's life is about to change forever.

Set against the backdrop of the Bangladesh War of Independence, A Golden Age is a story of passion and revolution, of hope, faith, and unexpected heroism. In the chaos of this era, everyone must make choices. And as she struggles to keep her family safe, Rehana will be forced to face a heartbreaking dilemma.