author of Under the Visible Life - Kim Echlin
Lovers whisper, immigration papers rustle, gunfire explodes as this novel sweeps backwards and forwards across continents and decades....The interconnected stories come alive with sensual detail....This is Bangladeshi history—all our history—as we enter a new world—our world—through the absorbing stories of The Storm.
starred review Booklist
In crystalline prose, Anwar tells stories that span continents and decades as his characters interconnect . . . . While deceit and cruelty occur, these stories are suffused with love and compassion that most often motivate action. A remarkable debut, in which fiction vividly portrays specific events in history.
author of Let the Eastern Bastards Freeze in the Dark - Mary Janigan
This riveting novel weaves the interlocking tales of compelling characters finding their way through turbulent times, crisscrossing nations and continents, finding redemption in the gift of love and the magical power of words. The Storm is lyrical, lovely and captivating.
Shelf Awareness
“A welcome addition to the fledgling collection of post-colonial literature by Bangladeshi authors....Anwar takes it further, much further, by creating an impressive cast of characters with lives and fortunes that intersect in unexpected ways with Bangladesh's history. From Washington, D.C., to Calcutta to Chittagong and Burma, Anwar journeys through time to unfurl the full breath and strength of the storm that is the literal and figurative center of his ambitious debut novel....A panoramic, multigenerational saga set against the backdrop of Bangladesh's violent birth as an independent nation.
New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind - Rumaan Alam
This book is a marvel, combining the sweep of a saga with the precision of a page-turner. Arif Anwar moves us deftly through time and across borders, beautifully illustrating the strange intersections we call fate, and reminding us how the past shapes the present.
Chitra Divakaruni
"Arif Anwar’s first novel, The Storm, is a fascinating, ambitious work, stretching across decades and countries and capturing troubled moments in each....Anwar has challenged himself by weaving together, in a definite narrative design, characters from these countries who come from very diverse backgrounds....Much of the charm and power of The Storm lies in negotiating this push and pull between the hero and the trickster, the magical and the mundane — and Anwar has handled it beautifully."
author of The Pearl That Broke Its Shell - Nadia Hashimi
Arif Anwar’s The Storm is a brilliantly textured tapestry exploring the natural and man-made disasters that define a human story. And like a true storm, it is by turns devastating, humbling and cathartic.
author of The Daughter's Tale and The German Girl - Armando Lucas Correa
Complex, elegantly composed, and page-turning at once, The Storm is a novel both grand and intimate in its scope. Arif Anwar’s ability to inhabit a variety of characters across countries and time is nothing short of astounding. I adored this book.
Associated Press
Anwar drills down to an almost microscopic viewpoint to explore Bangladesh’s struggle for independence through intimate, interconnected stories that span 60 years . . . . The Storm ends up as a richly realized, instructive tale about what to do with people set adrift by major disturbances, and about filtering broad strokes of storm data to study individual people who follow some rules and break others to find security and do what they think is right.
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Secret Daughter and The Golden Son - Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Arif Anwar’s masterful storytelling crosses continents and generations, illuminating how personal choices can have sweeping repercussions. The Storm is an elegant, stunning novel that captured my imagination and my heart until the end.
BookPage
In his debut novel, Arif Anwar gathers stories in the manner that wind and waves build in a massive storm . . . . With the ethos of A Long Way Home (upon which the movie Lion is based) and the epic quality of The Kite Runner, The Storm provokes and inspires . . . . Laced with symbols and mysterious mementos—like a sash left by a Japanese soldier that is later discovered by a studious Hindu girl, and a fishing boat painted with eyes—chapters swell to suspenseful endings that dovetail with each other . . . . From visa troubles and Hindu-Muslim relations to child custody and starvation, Anwar tackles the gamut of modern challenges with style and care.
Publishers Weekly
Anwar’s excellent debut braids together brief moments of sacrifice and love in the lives of many characters across decades in South Asia and Washington D.C . . . . This first novel will touch and astound readers.
New York Times
Much of the charm and power of The Storm lies in negotiating this push and pull between the hero and the trickster, the magical and the mundane — and Anwar has handled it beautifully.
Toronto Star
A sprawling intergenerational novel, touching on issues of colonialism, migration and communal hatred. . . . Anwar achieves his final goal as the novel eventually pulls at one’s heartstrings as the ‘vicious cycle of life’ becomes evident.
Booklist (starred review)
While deceit and cruelty occur, these stories are suffused with love and compassion that most often motivate action. A remarkable debut, in which fiction vividly portrays specific events in history.
From the Publisher
Complex, elegantly-composed, and page-turning at once, The Storm is a novel both grand and intimate in its scope. Arif Anwar’s ability to inhabit a variety of characters across countries and time is nothing short of astounding. I adored this book.”—Armando Lucas Correa, author of The German Girl
“Arif Anwar’s masterful storytelling crosses continents and generations, illuminating how personal choices can have sweeping repercussions. The Storm is an elegant, stunning novel that captured my imagination and my heart until the end.”—Shilpi Somaya Gowda, #1 international bestselling author of Secret Daughter and The Golden Son
“This book is a marvel, combining the sweep of a saga with the precision of a page-turner. Arif Anwar moves us deftly through time and across borders, beautifully illustrating the strange intersections we call fate, and reminding us how the past shapes the present.”—Rumaan Alam, author of Rich and Pretty and That Kind of Mother
“Arif Anwar’s The Storm is a brilliantly textured tapestry exploring the natural and man-made disasters that define a human story. And like a true storm, it is by turns devastating, humbling and cathartic.”—Nadia Hashimi, author of The Pearl That Broke Its Shell
“This riveting novel weaves the interlocking tales of compelling characters finding their way through turbulent times, crisscrossing nations and continents, finding redemption in the gift of love and the magical power of words. The Storm is lyrical, lovely and captivating.”—Mary Janigan, author of Let the Eastern Bastards Freeze in the Dark
“Lovers whisper, immigration papers rustle, gunfire explodes as this novel sweeps backwards and forwards across continents and decades....The interconnected stories come alive with sensual detail....This is Bangladeshi history—all our history—as we enter a new world—our world—through the absorbing stories of The Storm.”—Kim Echlin, author of Under the Visible Life
“In crystalline prose, Anwar tells stories that span continents and decades as his characters interconnect . . . . While deceit and cruelty occur, these stories are suffused with love and compassion that most often motivate action. A remarkable debut, in which fiction vividly portrays specific events in history.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Anwar drills down to an almost microscopic viewpoint to explore Bangladesh’s struggle for independence through intimate, interconnected stories that span 60 years . . . . The Storm ends up as a richly realized, instructive tale about what to do with people set adrift by major disturbances, and about filtering broad strokes of storm data to study individual people who follow some rules and break others to find security and do what they think is right.”— Associated Press
“In his debut novel, Arif Anwar gathers stories in the manner that wind and waves build in a massive storm . . . . With the ethos of A Long Way Home (upon which the movie Lion is based) and the epic quality of The Kite Runner, The Storm provokes and inspires . . . . Laced with symbols and mysterious mementos—like a sash left by a Japanese soldier that is later discovered by a studious Hindu girl, and a fishing boat painted with eyes—chapters swell to suspenseful endings that dovetail with each other . . . . From visa troubles and Hindu-Muslim relations to child custody and starvation, Anwar tackles the gamut of modern challenges with style and care.”— BookPage
"Arif Anwar’s first novel, The Storm, is a fascinating, ambitious work, stretching across decades and countries and capturing troubled moments in each....Anwar has challenged himself by weaving together, in a definite narrative design, characters from these countries who come from very diverse backgrounds....Much of the charm and power of The Storm lies in negotiating this push and pull between the hero and the trickster, the magical and the mundane — and Anwar has handled it beautifully." —Chitra Divakaruni, New York Times Book Review
“A welcome addition to the fledgling collection of post-colonial literature by Bangladeshi authors....Anwar takes it further, much further, by creating an impressive cast of characters with lives and fortunes that intersect in unexpected ways with Bangladesh's history. From Washington, D.C., to Calcutta to Chittagong and Burma, Anwar journeys through time to unfurl the full breath and strength of the storm that is the literal and figurative center of his ambitious debut novel....A panoramic, multigenerational saga set against the backdrop of Bangladesh's violent birth as an independent nation.”— Shelf Awareness
“Anwar’s excellent debut braids together brief moments of sacrifice and love in the lives of many characters across decades in South Asia and Washington D.C . . . . This first novel will touch and astound readers.”— Publishers Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
2018-03-05
A trio of storylines centers around the Partition of India.Anwar's debut novel is an ambitious one, with threads reaching back to World War II, to the more-or-less present day, and to 1970, to the devastating storm that killed half a million people in Bangladesh. The novel follows several storylines and a scattering of characters, straining by the end to bring them all together. To begin with, there's Shahryar, a young father who lives in Washington, D.C., but was born in Bangladesh. Shahryar's visa is about to expire, and he's desperately casting about for a way to stay in the country with his daughter, Anna. Then there's Claire Drake, a British doctor serving in World War II, first in Burma, and then in what was at that time East Bengal. There's also Ichiro, a Japanese pilot shot down nearby, whom Claire must treat. There's Rahim, too, a wealthy Muslim man living in Calcutta with his wife, Zahira, as that city erupts into riots in the midst of the Partition of India. To say the least, there's a lot going on. Anwar ups the ante even further with additional twists: Rahim is kidnapped by a Hindu gang, and Shahryar is caught up in what may or may not be a conspiracy. At this point, the book is practically bursting at the seams. Why Anwar shoved all these characters into one book is unclear: They would have done just fine each in their own respective novels. His prose doesn't help matters. It is sometimes overwrought ("a valley covered in cloaks of mist run ragged in places by trees crowned with fall's incipient fire") and sometimes plainly lacking (Zahira's response when the police appear in the nick of time: "You…how…what?"). Still, Anwar has an engaging voice that will perhaps improve with practice.An overstuffed narrative and sloppy writing mar a novel that, despite it all, still has its moments.
