by Tahmima Anam
First published 2016
Zubaida Haque stands at the edge of a ship-breaking beach in Chittagong, camera in hand, far from the academic halls of Boston where she first met Elijah Strong. An adopted daughter of a wealthy Bangladeshi family, she has already defied expectations by walking away from an arranged marriage—but not without cost. Her documentary project among the shipbreakers reveals more than industrial decay: each rusted hull holds fragments of a personal history waiting to be decoded. Anwar, a local worker dismantling massive vessels piece by piece, becomes her unexpected guide into the raw mechanics of survival and transformation. As global currents of migration, tradition, and individual choice collide, Zubaida must decide whether to reassemble her fragmented identity or let it dissolve completely.
Genres: contemporary, 21st-century, adoption, family-drama, asia
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, identity-crisis, personal-journey
Setting: Bangladesh, Boston, Chittagong
Period: 21st Century
432 pages · Hardcover · Harper