Remapping Bangladesh: A Palimpsestic Approach to Tehmima Anam’s Bengal Trilogy

Abstract

I here apply the Palimpsestic approach to the major events and characters in Tehmima Anam’s Bengal Trilogy, A Golden Age (2007), The Good Muslim (2011) and The Bones of Grace (2016). I have explored how Anam remaps particular places in her trilogy by adding a unique narrative in the history of Bangladesh. This research identifies the reactions of some of the major characters when they are placed in a particular time period which eventually changes their perception of the particular situation. I have analyzed three major female characters and a couple of minor male characters to find out what makes them distinctive and challenging in the light of the selected theoretical approaches. The major aspects of the Palimpsest approach such as superimposed structures, overwriting and rewriting of certain events, re-inscription of certain ideas, remapping of particular places, and the special role of memory or recalling of an event highlight the trilogy as a palimpsest text.