The Good Muslim: A Novel

“Delicate, heart-wrenching and poetic, this is a novel ofgreat poise and power.” —Tash Aw, author of The Harmony Silk Factory

Set in Bangladesh at a time when Islamic fundamentalism ison the rise, The Good Muslim is an epic story about faith, familyand the long shadow of war. Tahmima Anam, the prize-winning author of A Golden Age, offers a moving portrait of a sister and brother whostruggle with the competing loyalties of love and belief as they cope with thelasting ravages of war and confront the deeply intimate roots of religiousextremism. Echoingthe intensity and humanity of Thrity Umrigar’s The SpaceBetween Us, Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone, and Kiran Desai’s TheInheritance of Loss,Anam’s “accomplished and gripping novel,” in thewords of author Pankaj Mishra, “describes not only the tumult of a greathistorical event, but also the small but heroic struggles of individuals livingin the shadow of revolution and war.” |

From prizewinning Bangladeshi novelist Tahmima Anam comes her deeply moving second novel about the rise of Islamic radicalism in Bangladesh, seen through the intimate lens of a family.

Pankaj Mishra praised A Golden Age, Tahmima Anam's debut novel, as a "startlingly accomplished and gripping novel that 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." In her new novel, The Good Muslim, Anam again deftly weaves the personal and the political, evoking with great skill and urgency the lasting ravages of war and the competing loyalties of love and belief.

In the dying days of a brutal civil war, Sohail Haque stumbles upon an abandoned building. Inside he finds a young woman whose story will haunt him for a lifetime to come. . . . Almost a decade later, Sohail's sister, Maya, returns home after a long absence to find her beloved brother transformed. While Maya has stuck to her revolutionary ideals, Sohail has shunned his old life to become a charismatic religious leader. And when Sohail decides to send his son to a madrasa, the conflict between brother and sister comes to a devastating climax. Set in Bangladesh at a time when religious fundamentalism is on the rise, The Good Muslim is an epic story about faith, family, and the long shadow of war.

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“What happens to a heart ravaged by war? What happens to the strongest bonds of familial love when a son or a brother walks down a path that seems incomprehensible? In this book of searing beauty, Tahmima Anam shows us a family searching for ways to navigate through these questions; in the process she takes us on an unforgettable journey through a young nation trying to define itself.” - Kamila Shamsie, author of BURNT SHADOWS

“In this engrossing story, the author shows a great understanding of the lingering effects...Anam has a gift for tackling complex issues both personal and political.” - Library Journal

“Anam has a gift for tackling complex issues both personal and political.” - Library Journal

“Anam has an eye for culture, and for cultural dissonance. The writer’s gift is to make the unfamiliar understood. The Good Muslim succeeds in doing exactly that, and doing it well.” - Denver Post

“Anam tells a poignant, little-known story of a country often lost in the maze of global politics.” - Booklist

“The Good Muslim brims with gripping narrative, absorbing history and Shakespearean moral conundrums. . . . A keen examination of survival and forgiveness.” - Los Angeles Times

“Gripping and beautifully written. . . . From historical, political, and social tragedy, Anam has fashioned a mesmerizing story capturing a culture and a time.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This novel has a historical sweep. . . . Strong emotional undercurrents and intense passions course between characters. At times, the fabric of the narrative shimmers with poetry. Anam seems to be a novelist not so much luxuriating in the act of writing as in total control of it, using just the right words to create her stunning story.” - Arifa Akbar, The Independent

“Anam seems to be a novelist not so much luxuriating in the act of writing as in total control of it, using the right words to create her stunning story.” - Arifa Akbar, The Independent

“Throughout the novel’s extremes of violence and tragedy, Anam always allows the ultimate humanity of the characters to shine through.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Anam’s fluent prose and sharp insights are at their best when the narrative strays . . . into the surreal ways in which faith and love work-and sometimes fail.” - The New Yorker