It is so far from the lives of middle-America that we may not recognize it as organic growth, like a seed wrapped in a soil “bomb” of wetted soil and clay and tossed from a speeding bicycle. The experience of reading this debut is very New York but it is something else, too. I was interested to know what it must be like for Islamic immigrants settling in New York City, but came away thinking I was the one adjusting to life in a strange country. This debut novel is a kind of game-changer for me. To keep his family from unraveling, Anwar takes them on a fated trip to Bangladesh, to reckon with the past, their extended family, and each other. But when tragedy strikes, the Saleems find themselves blamed. One summer, when Ella returns home from college, she discovers Charu’s friend Maya-an Islamic cleric’s runaway daughter-asleep in her bedroom.Īs the girls have a summer of clandestine adventure and sexual awakenings, Anwar-owner of a popular botanical apothecary-has his own secrets, threatening his thirty-year marriage. She traveled from Bangladesh to Brooklyn to live with the Saleems: her uncle Anwar, aunt Hashi, and their beautiful daughter, Charu, her complete opposite. Orphaned as a child after her parents’ murder, and afflicted with hallucinations at dusk, she’s always felt more at ease in nature than with people. I had a delightful chat – live and in studio – with Tanwi when she stopped by KBOO today.A vibrant debut novel, set in Brooklyn and Bangladesh, Bright Lines follows three young women and one family struggling to make peace with secrets and their past.įor as long as she can remember, Ella has longed to feel at home. It should also be noted that Ella is one of the rare few queer characters of color in literature (that is, all literature). The protagonist, Ella, is a complex character who has suffered multiple tragedies, experiences a life-changing transformation and she hallucinates at dusk. A graduate of Brooklyn College MFA and Vassar College, she lives in Brooklyn, NY.īright Lines is a lovely story of Bangladeshi American characters making a life in Brooklyn, NY after surviving the 1971 Liberation War in Bangladesh. Her writing has appeared in , , Open City, Women 2.0, and Gawker. She is the founder of Hi Wildflower Botanica, a small-batch niche perfume, candle and skincare line.
Tanwi Nandini Islam is the author of BRIGHT LINES (Penguin 2015). I had this opportunity again with author Tanwi Nandini Islam’s debut novel, Bright Lines. Something I love about interviewing authors is learning actual histories of different lands through the power of fiction.
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