3 Review(s)

There has not been a memorable novel written in Bengali about the partition of the country. Nor about the parallel Bengali life spread across both sides of Bengal. This distinguished, exceptional and large-scale novel has removed that imperfection. The course of events in this novel, depicted on a vast canvas, simultaneously touches both sides of Bengal. It begins in the mid-fifties. This novel is a living document of how the currents of political and social changes in the two Bengals have come and gone in the eighties. In this novel, written around two families in the two Bengals, no particular character can be called the main character. At the same time, there are many main characters. Some of these characters do not only revolve around the boundaries of East or West Bengal, but also go to Europe and America. As a result, this novel sometimes talks about the dazzling cities of America along with the coffee houses of Kolkata. ‘East-West’—this name seems to have a three-dimensional connotation. This novel is not just about East and West Bengal. It also includes the larger background of the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere. Again, the ambitions and ups and downs, beginnings and endings of East and West in human life and mind are subtly reflected in this title. The author of 'That Time', 'East-West' is a modern prose epic of Bengali life, written about this time. Awarded the Ananda Puraskar