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flowerbinsh's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Read as a requirement for my Modernism class.
I wrote a whole review and somehow deleted it all, so this may not be as eloquently done as it was last time lol.
I had to fly through this collection faster than I would have liked to in order to simply get it done to move onto other work. I think if I had the time to sit and really soak in the contents of this book, I would have so much more to say and the rating would be higher.
With that being said, I do love the critiques this collections brings up in reference to womanhood, religion, censorship, and how all of those things tie together into one complicated knot.
I cannot wait to give this a reread in order to fully understand these critiques being presented and how that plays into the history of this book’s publication.
I wrote a whole review and somehow deleted it all, so this may not be as eloquently done as it was last time lol.
I had to fly through this collection faster than I would have liked to in order to simply get it done to move onto other work. I think if I had the time to sit and really soak in the contents of this book, I would have so much more to say and the rating would be higher.
With that being said, I do love the critiques this collections brings up in reference to womanhood, religion, censorship, and how all of those things tie together into one complicated knot.
I cannot wait to give this a reread in order to fully understand these critiques being presented and how that plays into the history of this book’s publication.
nffictionophile's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hifza_k's review against another edition
5.0
Urdu literature always felt like it wasn't for me. But this book feels like one of a kind.
The writing style was a huge "yes!" From me. Never have I read a Kafkaesque story in Urdu. All the little jabs at religion were thoroughly enjoyed. Reading men write stories from a female's perspective was also new.
None the less this book doesn't mention some new problems that we aren't aware of. But it does make you feel how little we as a society have achieved during the duration of its publication and today.
The writing style was a huge "yes!" From me. Never have I read a Kafkaesque story in Urdu. All the little jabs at religion were thoroughly enjoyed. Reading men write stories from a female's perspective was also new.
None the less this book doesn't mention some new problems that we aren't aware of. But it does make you feel how little we as a society have achieved during the duration of its publication and today.
jackroche's review
Just read “a night of winter rains” and it was quite the torrent
pretty_little_bibliophile's review
4.0
I read #Angarey as a part of a paper I am doing on the AIPWA (All India Progressive Writers’ Association). But before I begin, I think it will be apt for me to point out certain facts about this #controversial book!
First published in 1932, in Urdu, it is a collection of 9 short stories and one play, by Sajjad Zahir, Ahmed Ali, Rashid Jahan, and Mahmuduzzafar. It talks about various social issues such as the patriarchy, the uselessness of religion as a prop when facing poverty, the hypocrisy of the men of god, class/gender/culture/religion issues, etc. Angarey, the book which invited one of the earliest bans on free speech in India, and a precursor of the Progressive Writers' Movement, was re-published in Urdu in 1995. In 2014, it was published in English for the first time.
.
Therefore it is no wonder that this book was banned and almost all copies were burned. There is use of interior monologue techniques, stream-of-consciousness, and therefore the starkness of the thoughts of the characters really come through.
.
I believe my favorite ones were Dulari, and Masculinity, probably because they resonated with me a lot. But that is not to say the issues that the other works deal with are light with topics such as poverty, the hypocrisy of moulvis, patriarchy, etc, This was the emergence of self-critical literature as all of these writers were Muslims and all of them critiqued their own culture, religion, and class.
However, I could not really understand the stream-of-consciousness pieces and thought that it was just me. But apparently, quite a few people have issues with the translations of these specific pieces. I would have also appreciated footnotes that delved more into the origin of various Urdu and Hindustani words, especially as a person hailing from a part of the country that did not have any direct Urdu influence. Overall it was an interesting read, and one I probably need to read again.
First published in 1932, in Urdu, it is a collection of 9 short stories and one play, by Sajjad Zahir, Ahmed Ali, Rashid Jahan, and Mahmuduzzafar. It talks about various social issues such as the patriarchy, the uselessness of religion as a prop when facing poverty, the hypocrisy of the men of god, class/gender/culture/religion issues, etc. Angarey, the book which invited one of the earliest bans on free speech in India, and a precursor of the Progressive Writers' Movement, was re-published in Urdu in 1995. In 2014, it was published in English for the first time.
.
Therefore it is no wonder that this book was banned and almost all copies were burned. There is use of interior monologue techniques, stream-of-consciousness, and therefore the starkness of the thoughts of the characters really come through.
.
I believe my favorite ones were Dulari, and Masculinity, probably because they resonated with me a lot. But that is not to say the issues that the other works deal with are light with topics such as poverty, the hypocrisy of moulvis, patriarchy, etc, This was the emergence of self-critical literature as all of these writers were Muslims and all of them critiqued their own culture, religion, and class.
However, I could not really understand the stream-of-consciousness pieces and thought that it was just me. But apparently, quite a few people have issues with the translations of these specific pieces. I would have also appreciated footnotes that delved more into the origin of various Urdu and Hindustani words, especially as a person hailing from a part of the country that did not have any direct Urdu influence. Overall it was an interesting read, and one I probably need to read again.
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