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Hellfire
‘With the pace of a thriller and the unforgettable characters of Greek tragedy, this keenly observed story of a family under the rule of a terrifying matriarch is one of the most unusual, addictive and captivating novels I've read in a very long time’ ―Tahmima Anam, author of A Golden Age and The Good Muslim The holy Prophet received his revelations from the Creator at forty. Which meant that even in the eyes of Allah, ‘forty’ held some special meaning. Something special happened at forty, something special was going to happen. For the sisters Lovely and Beauty, home is a cage. Their mother Farida Khanam never lets them out of her hawk-eyed gaze. Leesa Gazi’s Hellfire opens with Lovely's first ever solo expedition to Gausia Market on her fortieth birthday. There will be many firsts for her today, but she mustn’t forget the curfew Farida Khanam has ordained. As Lovely roams the streets of Dhaka, her mother’s carefully constructed world begins to unravel. The twisted but working arrangements of a fragile household begin to assume a macabre quality as the day progresses. Told in stark, taut prose, this grisly tale of a family born of a dark secret is one of the most scintillating debuts in contemporary Bengali literature.
204 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
117 people are currently reading
5231 people want to read
About the author
Leesa Gazi
4 books28 followersলীসা গাজী লেখক ও অভিনেত্রী । ‘Six Seasons’ এবং ‘A Golden Age’-এর চিত্রনাট্যকার এবং অভিনেত্রী। ছোটগল্পকার এবং ঔপনাসিক লীসা গাজী বর্তমারে লন্ডন-প্রবাসী।
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
December 4, 2023
In a Nutshell: An impactful novella about some “good girls” who, guess what, might not be so good, after all. Hardhitting and honest. A bit wacky at times. Wanted more at the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Story Synopsis:
This novella was originally published as “Rourob” in Bengali in 2020. It was first translated to English in the same year and published in India under the title “Hellfire”. This American edition has again undergone a name change, and comes out on 5th December 2023. I think this title suits the book the best.
Bookish Yays:
😍 A short read at just 190 pages, and yet I didn’t feel like zooming through it. The entire plot is set on a single day – Lovely’s 40th birthday, but we get enough of the backstory through well-written flashbacks and reminiscences.
😍 Great development of the main three characters. Farida’s overprotectiveness, Lovely’s dutifulness as an elder daughter, and Beauty’s rebelliousness as the younger daughter – all come out well. I loved seeing how the initial impressions made by the trio change over the course of the day.
😍 A few of the secondary characters are also impactful, particularly the girls’ father and the servant boy.
😍 The story is set in Dhaka, Bangladesh. As Bangladesh and India were the same nation until a few decades ago, our cultures are quite similar. As such, the description of the Gausia market as well as the regional attitude towards female children, skin colour, marriages, and parental duties – all felt genuine.
😍 The prose is amazingly vivid. Gausia market comes especially alive with the author’s (and translator’s) words.
😍 Despite the relative short length, the book goes deep and wide in its themes, handling dysfunctional families, patriarchy, psychological manipulation, and toxic parenting especially well. The genius of this is that there is nothing R-rated on paper. No sexual abuse, no violence, nothing. All we see is the aftermath; yet, it is disturbing.
😍 I am not sure if Lovely and Beauty come with the same names in the Bangla version, but I loved how apt their English names were for their respective personalities.
😍 Despite the serious themes and situations, there is enough humour in the book. One of the main sources of fun is the man’s voice in Lovely’s head, who seems to be goading her into breaking all of her constraints.
😍 I loved the translation. The prose is crisp enough to feel original, and at the same time, the content retains enough of Bangla to remind us that we are reading something from another culture. The Bangla words are quite easy to guess from context, and wherever they aren’t, meanings are provided without hurdling the flow.
Bookish Mixed Bags:
😐 Lovely’s escapades in Gausia market were quite entertaining at the start, but after a point, they started feeling dragged, and even too bizarre. The initial part of her adventure reminded me of the movie “Baby’s Day Out”, except that the “baby” this time was a forty-year-old woman experiencing her first taste of freedom. But when the proceedings became exaggerated, the realism diminished. Things improve after the narration moves to the other two women.
😐 I did like the ending. A lot. Though I could see the climax coming, it still left me speechless. But I wish it weren’t the ending. There was so much more I would have loved to know. I was reminded of how I felt at the ending of Vivek Shanbag’s ‘Ghachar Ghochar’, though that was open-ended and this one wasn’t. Both books were stunning writing efforts with endings that felt abrupt.
Bookish Nays:
😒 Why the heck is it tagged as a thriller on the cover? Luckily for me, I was already aware of “Hellfire” and it was on my agenda as a literary fiction work. So I didn’t read this edition as a thriller. Anyone who picks it up as one is bound to be disappointed. It’s thrilling, but it is not a thriller.
All in all, I relished this character-driven novella. Its themes and its characters make it a fascinating read. Recommended to literary fiction lovers interested in feminist topics as well as a novel cultural perspective.
4.25 stars.
My thanks to AmazonCrossing and NetGalley for the DRC of “Good Girls”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
A similar thought-provoking read:
Min Jin Lee’s ‘The Best Girls’. This novella makes me want to reread this short story and write a proper review this time around. I might just do so!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Story Synopsis:
Lovely and her younger-by-three-years sister Beauty have never been allowed by their mother to leave their home by themselves. Be it their education or their friends or their life choices, everything has been monitored by their mother Farida.
On Lovely’s 40th birthday, no one is more surprised than Farida herself when she permits her daughter to visit Gausia market alone, with the only instruction being to return by lunchtime. Stunned by this unexpected bonanza, Lovely is determined to make the best of the day, but where should she begin? The voice in her head gives her some interesting suggestions, some bordering on rebellion.
How far will Lovely go? How will Beauty react when she hears that her elder sister was allowed to go out alone? What was in Farida’s mind that morning? Read and find out.
The story comes to us in the third person perspectives of the above three characters.
This novella was originally published as “Rourob” in Bengali in 2020. It was first translated to English in the same year and published in India under the title “Hellfire”. This American edition has again undergone a name change, and comes out on 5th December 2023. I think this title suits the book the best.
Bookish Yays:
😍 A short read at just 190 pages, and yet I didn’t feel like zooming through it. The entire plot is set on a single day – Lovely’s 40th birthday, but we get enough of the backstory through well-written flashbacks and reminiscences.
😍 Great development of the main three characters. Farida’s overprotectiveness, Lovely’s dutifulness as an elder daughter, and Beauty’s rebelliousness as the younger daughter – all come out well. I loved seeing how the initial impressions made by the trio change over the course of the day.
😍 A few of the secondary characters are also impactful, particularly the girls’ father and the servant boy.
😍 The story is set in Dhaka, Bangladesh. As Bangladesh and India were the same nation until a few decades ago, our cultures are quite similar. As such, the description of the Gausia market as well as the regional attitude towards female children, skin colour, marriages, and parental duties – all felt genuine.
😍 The prose is amazingly vivid. Gausia market comes especially alive with the author’s (and translator’s) words.
😍 Despite the relative short length, the book goes deep and wide in its themes, handling dysfunctional families, patriarchy, psychological manipulation, and toxic parenting especially well. The genius of this is that there is nothing R-rated on paper. No sexual abuse, no violence, nothing. All we see is the aftermath; yet, it is disturbing.
😍 I am not sure if Lovely and Beauty come with the same names in the Bangla version, but I loved how apt their English names were for their respective personalities.
😍 Despite the serious themes and situations, there is enough humour in the book. One of the main sources of fun is the man’s voice in Lovely’s head, who seems to be goading her into breaking all of her constraints.
😍 I loved the translation. The prose is crisp enough to feel original, and at the same time, the content retains enough of Bangla to remind us that we are reading something from another culture. The Bangla words are quite easy to guess from context, and wherever they aren’t, meanings are provided without hurdling the flow.
Bookish Mixed Bags:
😐 Lovely’s escapades in Gausia market were quite entertaining at the start, but after a point, they started feeling dragged, and even too bizarre. The initial part of her adventure reminded me of the movie “Baby’s Day Out”, except that the “baby” this time was a forty-year-old woman experiencing her first taste of freedom. But when the proceedings became exaggerated, the realism diminished. Things improve after the narration moves to the other two women.
😐 I did like the ending. A lot. Though I could see the climax coming, it still left me speechless. But I wish it weren’t the ending. There was so much more I would have loved to know. I was reminded of how I felt at the ending of Vivek Shanbag’s ‘Ghachar Ghochar’, though that was open-ended and this one wasn’t. Both books were stunning writing efforts with endings that felt abrupt.
Bookish Nays:
😒 Why the heck is it tagged as a thriller on the cover? Luckily for me, I was already aware of “Hellfire” and it was on my agenda as a literary fiction work. So I didn’t read this edition as a thriller. Anyone who picks it up as one is bound to be disappointed. It’s thrilling, but it is not a thriller.
All in all, I relished this character-driven novella. Its themes and its characters make it a fascinating read. Recommended to literary fiction lovers interested in feminist topics as well as a novel cultural perspective.
4.25 stars.
My thanks to AmazonCrossing and NetGalley for the DRC of “Good Girls”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
A similar thought-provoking read:
Min Jin Lee’s ‘The Best Girls’. This novella makes me want to reread this short story and write a proper review this time around. I might just do so!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
November 17, 2020
Riveting, shocking makes you gasp at close intervals. Even though you might be familiar with the blurb that Hellfire follows a woman of forty who goes out of her house to the bazaar, unaccompanied, for the first time in her life, it still shocks you when you read the revelation. An excellent book about possessive mothers, toxic families, betrayal and normalization of toxic behaviour. Lovely and Beauty, two sisters, 40yo and 37yo, cannot leave the house. They have scheduled visits either togethe or with their mother, never alone. They cannot go to the terrace of the house without permission. Sometimes they are locked in their own rooms as punishment and forbidden from visiting each other. Their social visits include visits to and fro their rooms. There is a man in Lovely's head while Beauty seems to have found her peace by indulging in movie reruns and having fun. V enjoyable and v shocking read. The translation effectively captures the horror of such a situation.
Trigger warning : Gaslighting, Toxic families.
Much thanks to Westland for a copy. All opinions are my own.
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
Trigger warning : Gaslighting, Toxic families.
Much thanks to Westland for a copy. All opinions are my own.
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
Read
April 21, 2021In my last post -- a review of Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous -- I wrote, "If the fences are eventually lifted, where will we go from there?" Strangely, Leesa Gazi's Hellfire, translated from the Bengali by Shabnam Nadiya, starts from there. Lovely gets out of the house for the first time all by herself. She is 40. As the book begins, the narrator tells us, "Getting out of the house, however, was a task as hard and complicated as crossing the pulserat, that final bridge of the afterlife spanning the fires of hell." Hellfire answers the questions -- why did Lovely take 40 years to do something that's as unassuming as stepping out of the house by herself? Does Lovely cross the bridge? Or does the fire engulf her? If Lovely crosses the bridge, is she the same person when she reaches the other end? Or will she be permanently marked by Freedom?
Leesa Gazi's Hellfire is 198 pages long. The rich, layered story of Farida Khanam and her daughters Lovely and Beauty unfolds like a fast-paced psychological thriller in those measly 198 pages. I keep harking back to the number of pages because despite being ridiculously short, the narrative bursts forth like water that gushes out just after a dam collapses. There is real force in Gazi's storytelling, and Nadiya's translation ensures that the force is not impeded.
For 40 years, Farida Khanam has always kept Lovely and Beauty on her watch. For children raised by Asian mothers, being under the constant supervision of their mothers is an everyday thing. But Farida Khanam stalks her own children. For instance, when Lovely and Beauty sit in their classroom, Farida Khanam watches them from their balcony that's right opposite to their school. When they go out, she accompanies them. Every contact with the outside world is severed. The daughters' privacy is limited to their bedrooms. The house is their bubble. They age, arrive well into middle-age, without experiencing the conventional milestones, trials, heartbreaks, joys, and triumphs of life. A golden cage is a cage all the same.
The reason why Farida Khanam keeps her daughter under lock and key is the story of what patriarchal societies do to women. We meet the important women in Farida Khanam's life, and how they transfer their trauma to her. We see how they make Farida Khanam a woman of steel and a woman who cannot see the pain and damage she inflicts on her daughters. We meet the not-so-important men in her life, and how they are victims of patriarchy themselves, and how women continue to bear men's cross. Gazi narrates each character's story with the unwavering confidence of a creator who knows about every fibre of her characters' being. But the most fascinating aspect of Gazi's narration is how it's impossible to guess the path the story would take despite knowing the characters and their motivation. In my copy, the last line of the story is the last line in the book itself. There are no acknowledgements, and notes about the author and the translator after the story ends. So, I was left reeling in shock when I read the last line. The punch in the gut was so sudden that I was breathless for a brief moment.
Hellfire is wild and disturbing, and it's incredible and important. What makes it outstanding though is how the horror is omnipresent and surreal. Imagine this -- you are ensconced in your bedroom, but the clouds suddenly become dark, and terrifying thoughts cross your mind. You just can't say what's bothering you, but you can feel a sense of impending doom. The horror that Hellfire holds is quite like what Shirley Jackson wrote in We Have Always Lived In The Castle. Nothing is explicit. In Hellfire, there is no mention of physical violence too. But the terror rises out of the characters' realisation that how seemingly normal things are on the surface, and how just a chink is enough to see how deeply ruined they are.
Leesa Gazi's Hellfire is 198 pages long. The rich, layered story of Farida Khanam and her daughters Lovely and Beauty unfolds like a fast-paced psychological thriller in those measly 198 pages. I keep harking back to the number of pages because despite being ridiculously short, the narrative bursts forth like water that gushes out just after a dam collapses. There is real force in Gazi's storytelling, and Nadiya's translation ensures that the force is not impeded.
For 40 years, Farida Khanam has always kept Lovely and Beauty on her watch. For children raised by Asian mothers, being under the constant supervision of their mothers is an everyday thing. But Farida Khanam stalks her own children. For instance, when Lovely and Beauty sit in their classroom, Farida Khanam watches them from their balcony that's right opposite to their school. When they go out, she accompanies them. Every contact with the outside world is severed. The daughters' privacy is limited to their bedrooms. The house is their bubble. They age, arrive well into middle-age, without experiencing the conventional milestones, trials, heartbreaks, joys, and triumphs of life. A golden cage is a cage all the same.
The reason why Farida Khanam keeps her daughter under lock and key is the story of what patriarchal societies do to women. We meet the important women in Farida Khanam's life, and how they transfer their trauma to her. We see how they make Farida Khanam a woman of steel and a woman who cannot see the pain and damage she inflicts on her daughters. We meet the not-so-important men in her life, and how they are victims of patriarchy themselves, and how women continue to bear men's cross. Gazi narrates each character's story with the unwavering confidence of a creator who knows about every fibre of her characters' being. But the most fascinating aspect of Gazi's narration is how it's impossible to guess the path the story would take despite knowing the characters and their motivation. In my copy, the last line of the story is the last line in the book itself. There are no acknowledgements, and notes about the author and the translator after the story ends. So, I was left reeling in shock when I read the last line. The punch in the gut was so sudden that I was breathless for a brief moment.
Hellfire is wild and disturbing, and it's incredible and important. What makes it outstanding though is how the horror is omnipresent and surreal. Imagine this -- you are ensconced in your bedroom, but the clouds suddenly become dark, and terrifying thoughts cross your mind. You just can't say what's bothering you, but you can feel a sense of impending doom. The horror that Hellfire holds is quite like what Shirley Jackson wrote in We Have Always Lived In The Castle. Nothing is explicit. In Hellfire, there is no mention of physical violence too. But the terror rises out of the characters' realisation that how seemingly normal things are on the surface, and how just a chink is enough to see how deeply ruined they are.
June 1, 2023
Perhaps the take-home message of this wrenching book is: the more tightly controlled women are, the more carefully and deeply cultivated, the more dangerous those women will result; some silent, some not so silent - but all will be dangerous. And all will eventually act.
A perfectly timed story - like a day-long birdsong. I am reminded of a passerine that lives with us - the hornero - whose song begins sweetly, but ends like a demented, frenzied, delirious shriek. This book is one day, the 40th birthday of a Bangladeshi woman, told with a surreal rhythm that reminded me of Pedro Páramo. I was completely captivated.
Highly recommended.
A perfectly timed story - like a day-long birdsong. I am reminded of a passerine that lives with us - the hornero - whose song begins sweetly, but ends like a demented, frenzied, delirious shriek. This book is one day, the 40th birthday of a Bangladeshi woman, told with a surreal rhythm that reminded me of Pedro Páramo. I was completely captivated.
Highly recommended.
April 13, 2021
I need to come up for air. This is one of the most arresting books I have ever read - and one of the most gripping books on a dysfunctional family. At first, I was wondering what I was reading, but Gazi is a magician, building up the tension, and letting us in the deep, dark core of this family with unnerving tenacity.
Psychological depth. Intensity. Drama. Tension. Secrecy. Illness. Abuse. Control. Fear.
Pack those adjectives into a slim book and you won’t wonder why I was gasping for air when I finished. An absolute gem from Bangladeshi literature.
Psychological depth. Intensity. Drama. Tension. Secrecy. Illness. Abuse. Control. Fear.
Pack those adjectives into a slim book and you won’t wonder why I was gasping for air when I finished. An absolute gem from Bangladeshi literature.
September 5, 2022
"Every breath she drew was dedicated to ensuring that everything worked as perfectly, as consistently, as the laws of nature. The point to be noted was that nothing was working perfectly. Farida was well aware of this. So, her efforts and persistence were moving beyond reasonable day by day."
I was told that this book goes bonkers towards the end and I was not disappointed. It is terrific how Gazi makes such an incredible premise, a mother fanatically cossetting her daughters till they are well into their middle age, believable in a way that does not immediately raise eyebrows although as the narrative steadily unfolds, and their ordered lives unravel, the reader is struck by a growing sense of incredulity alongside an almost morbid fascination. Farida's hold over her household is so intense it's hard to believe they can even breathe without asking her first.
She is of course not a despot. Her demands at first seem reasonable and her desire to protect her daughters from the cruel world is noble. It leads to them being reduced to golden birds in a cage, without lives or families or means of a living of their own. They are totally dependent on Farida and have become complacent. Their father is a ghostly sick presence, who glides in and out in his attempt to go unnoticed. Most of the book, barring flashbacks, takes place over the course of a day, bringing old shame to light and ending in a decisive bang of sudden horror.
May 7, 2021
Hellfire is a story of two sisters Lovely and Beauty. They couldn't be more different from each other, but both are under the strict supervision of their mother Farida, who runs the household with an iron fist. She has her reasons though, which we get to discover later on in the story.
Beauty, true to her name, has a set morning routine spanning a few hours dedicated to looking after her overall appearance: skincare, hair-care and all that shizz but using age-old tested home remedies. Her day normally starts at 10:30 a.m. and includes watching the same movies over and over.
Lovely, three years older than Beauty, on the other hand chooses the first Kameez that she lays her eyes on. She spends less time on her appearance than Beauty for sure.
Calling Farida a strict matriarch would be an understatement. A slight inconvenience, which can range from her girls going to the rooftop in her absence, to the school principal asking her not to wait outside the school gates the entire time the children are at school, would sent her packing the entire family into a new house. She runs things her way, period. The girls, even in their late thirties cannot go anywhere unaccompanied.
This does raise the question, what is the reason for her behaviour? Is she doing this out of love for her children, to protect them? or does she simply want them to go by the picture she paints, no questions asked ?
So, it is surprising indeed when on her fortieth birthday, Lovely ventures out on her own, of course with Farida's permission, into the Gausia market to buy herself some clothes, UNACCOMPANIED. The story unfolds in this single day when Lovely finds herself breaking every single rule that her mother had drilled into their brains, roaming the streets of Dhaka, having an adventure of her own, discovering herself, her freedom.
Back at home we see Farida dealing with her own issues.
The way this story reads is indeed astounding. The author manages to capture feelings of claustrophobia and freedom in the same breath. She leaves us asking several questions as we turn the pages, yet somewhere when the book is closed, our subconscious mind has already figured it out. This is a book that like filter coffee needs time to have its affect.
The narrative does go back and forth in time, but it is done with skill.
On a completely unrelated note, but having been mentioned in the book, readers should really learn how to say "son of a bitch" in Bengali, believe me the feel is completely different.
Beauty, true to her name, has a set morning routine spanning a few hours dedicated to looking after her overall appearance: skincare, hair-care and all that shizz but using age-old tested home remedies. Her day normally starts at 10:30 a.m. and includes watching the same movies over and over.
Lovely, three years older than Beauty, on the other hand chooses the first Kameez that she lays her eyes on. She spends less time on her appearance than Beauty for sure.
Calling Farida a strict matriarch would be an understatement. A slight inconvenience, which can range from her girls going to the rooftop in her absence, to the school principal asking her not to wait outside the school gates the entire time the children are at school, would sent her packing the entire family into a new house. She runs things her way, period. The girls, even in their late thirties cannot go anywhere unaccompanied.
This does raise the question, what is the reason for her behaviour? Is she doing this out of love for her children, to protect them? or does she simply want them to go by the picture she paints, no questions asked ?
So, it is surprising indeed when on her fortieth birthday, Lovely ventures out on her own, of course with Farida's permission, into the Gausia market to buy herself some clothes, UNACCOMPANIED. The story unfolds in this single day when Lovely finds herself breaking every single rule that her mother had drilled into their brains, roaming the streets of Dhaka, having an adventure of her own, discovering herself, her freedom.
Back at home we see Farida dealing with her own issues.
The way this story reads is indeed astounding. The author manages to capture feelings of claustrophobia and freedom in the same breath. She leaves us asking several questions as we turn the pages, yet somewhere when the book is closed, our subconscious mind has already figured it out. This is a book that like filter coffee needs time to have its affect.
The narrative does go back and forth in time, but it is done with skill.
On a completely unrelated note, but having been mentioned in the book, readers should really learn how to say "son of a bitch" in Bengali, believe me the feel is completely different.
December 10, 2023
Thank you, Amazon Crossing, for the advance reading copy.
I expected a better closure towards the end considering how close yet how distant the main female characters were to each other.
I find the writing quite accessible to read in one sitting. However, constant repetition of certain words in the entire book did dim the overall reading. Certain scenes do tend to get repetitive as well.
The story depicts a very close strict family of two sisters whose mother gets quite upset when they try to be more independent and carefree. This might sound a bit too much as is described in the book but I can understand how mothers can be specifically when it comes to the society/community we live in.
Trigger warnings for lots of slang/swear words directed towards women and domestic violence/abuse.
I expected a better closure towards the end considering how close yet how distant the main female characters were to each other.
I find the writing quite accessible to read in one sitting. However, constant repetition of certain words in the entire book did dim the overall reading. Certain scenes do tend to get repetitive as well.
The story depicts a very close strict family of two sisters whose mother gets quite upset when they try to be more independent and carefree. This might sound a bit too much as is described in the book but I can understand how mothers can be specifically when it comes to the society/community we live in.
Trigger warnings for lots of slang/swear words directed towards women and domestic violence/abuse.
August 31, 2021
Dawn: Under the warm, gentle rays of the sun, a faint trickling of strewn happiness amongst a lingering dark cloud emerges as a tiny flame of joy. A flame of joy that leads you to a window through which you witness the oppressed lives of two sisters, Lovely and Beauty.
Meet their oppressor, the formidable Farida Khanam, mother, wife, and Maestra of the lives that surround her.
With a flick of her baton, she enforces control, and with a swish of her wrist she enforces her ideals and together she conducts the eerie, suspenseful and disturbing symphony that is Hellfire.
Noon: Under the scorching eye blazing in the sky, its rays stretching downwards towards the streets of Dhaka, an eerie miasma emerges from one sister. A thick, petulant cloud of jealousy slowly suffocates her, stoking the flames that fuel the hell within her.
Meet Beauty, daughter, sister, and a being of pure pride and resentments that demands the universe to rotate around her.
Dusk: Under the rays of the shimmering moonlight, the twilight specter comes to dance, signaling shadows to spiral into a repudiating wave of disbelief. Innocence and kindness slowly dissipate and are replaced by hatred and clarity!
Meet Lovely, a 40-year-old daughter, a loving sister, and the victim of psychological oppression and searing jealousy. A stick, that can only bend so far until it breaks
One day, from dawn to dusk is what takes for it to unfurl.
One day, from dawn to dusk is what it takes to make for an enjoyable as well as terrifying read.
One day, from dawn to dusk is what it takes to gather all the dissipated shades, unify them, for all the shadows belong together and together there is naught but darkness.
I am grateful to @whatshwesreading for bringing this book to my notice by using the sentence, ' A feminist Ghachar Ghochar that is on acid".
I am grateful to @livingthroughmetaphors for reading this book with m.
I am grateful to everyone who went on ahead and picked up this book immediately after I recommend it to them!
And I will be extremely grateful to everyone who reads it after reading this!
Meet their oppressor, the formidable Farida Khanam, mother, wife, and Maestra of the lives that surround her.
With a flick of her baton, she enforces control, and with a swish of her wrist she enforces her ideals and together she conducts the eerie, suspenseful and disturbing symphony that is Hellfire.
Noon: Under the scorching eye blazing in the sky, its rays stretching downwards towards the streets of Dhaka, an eerie miasma emerges from one sister. A thick, petulant cloud of jealousy slowly suffocates her, stoking the flames that fuel the hell within her.
Meet Beauty, daughter, sister, and a being of pure pride and resentments that demands the universe to rotate around her.
Dusk: Under the rays of the shimmering moonlight, the twilight specter comes to dance, signaling shadows to spiral into a repudiating wave of disbelief. Innocence and kindness slowly dissipate and are replaced by hatred and clarity!
Meet Lovely, a 40-year-old daughter, a loving sister, and the victim of psychological oppression and searing jealousy. A stick, that can only bend so far until it breaks
One day, from dawn to dusk is what takes for it to unfurl.
One day, from dawn to dusk is what it takes to make for an enjoyable as well as terrifying read.
One day, from dawn to dusk is what it takes to gather all the dissipated shades, unify them, for all the shadows belong together and together there is naught but darkness.
I am grateful to @whatshwesreading for bringing this book to my notice by using the sentence, ' A feminist Ghachar Ghochar that is on acid".
I am grateful to @livingthroughmetaphors for reading this book with m.
I am grateful to everyone who went on ahead and picked up this book immediately after I recommend it to them!
And I will be extremely grateful to everyone who reads it after reading this!
August 6, 2021
In an assuming neighbourhood in Dhaka, Bangaldesh, lives an unassuming family – Mukhles Shaheb, the father, Farida Khanam, the mother, Lovely and Beauty – the daughters. Our story starts on Lovely’s fortieth birthday when she’s permitted (yes, you read that right) to step out of the house by herself. And in the next 24 hours, as the story unfolds, you discover, with horror, that there’s nothing banal about this seemingly domestic household.
Farida Khanam, a fearsome woman with rigid ideas of what motherhood is supposed to be, rules her house and the lives of her family with an iron fist. The father is a weak, non-entity, devoid of all agency; Lovely, the elder daughter is quiet and obedient; Beauty, the younger one, a spoilt brat, who finds ways to make her golden cage comfortable. There is ample display of toxic and abusive behavior (domestic help is always abused, the daughters are threatened, curses of death heaped upon them one minute and plied with sweet words and comforts the next). As you read, the annoyance at Lovely’s obedience, timidity gives way to a sense of foreboding, one that is fully realized in the final act. An action, I promise you, you won’t see coming.
On a side note, while I was reading reviews of this book, I came across one titled “What Happens to Women in a Matriarchy, and Other Secrets.”I strongly disagreed with this. See, Hellfire is not about matriarchy. No. It’s about what happens when women internalize patriarchy and misogyny. It’s about how women are held to such stringent ideals, moral narratives, and placed on a pedestal that they lose all sense of self.
Hellfire is a tightly knit modern gothic horror. It’s a book that will make you think and think some more. It’s a book that will make you question the society, its morals, and ideals. Leesa Gazi has written a book for the ages and I am thankful that Shabnam Nadia’s effortless translation has made it accessible to people like me.
Farida Khanam, a fearsome woman with rigid ideas of what motherhood is supposed to be, rules her house and the lives of her family with an iron fist. The father is a weak, non-entity, devoid of all agency; Lovely, the elder daughter is quiet and obedient; Beauty, the younger one, a spoilt brat, who finds ways to make her golden cage comfortable. There is ample display of toxic and abusive behavior (domestic help is always abused, the daughters are threatened, curses of death heaped upon them one minute and plied with sweet words and comforts the next). As you read, the annoyance at Lovely’s obedience, timidity gives way to a sense of foreboding, one that is fully realized in the final act. An action, I promise you, you won’t see coming.
On a side note, while I was reading reviews of this book, I came across one titled “What Happens to Women in a Matriarchy, and Other Secrets.”I strongly disagreed with this. See, Hellfire is not about matriarchy. No. It’s about what happens when women internalize patriarchy and misogyny. It’s about how women are held to such stringent ideals, moral narratives, and placed on a pedestal that they lose all sense of self.
Hellfire is a tightly knit modern gothic horror. It’s a book that will make you think and think some more. It’s a book that will make you question the society, its morals, and ideals. Leesa Gazi has written a book for the ages and I am thankful that Shabnam Nadia’s effortless translation has made it accessible to people like me.
November 7, 2020
Translated from the Bengali by Shabnam Nadiya, Hellfire by LeesaGazi, a British Bangladeshi author is a taut unfolding of events over the course of a few hours in a single day and the suppressed emotions and thoughts of characters that has built up the situation that the characters find themselves in.
What are the reasons for the matriarch of a family to control the movements of her two daughters who are approaching middle age? Why aren’t there visitors to the house? What happens when one daughter is allowed to spend the day outside on her own? These threads are tied in tangled knots, woven in intricate patterns by the author who skilfully makes the reader turn the pages with her vivid writing and descriptions of the mood in the air. Placed for the most part in a house that is claustrophobic in more ways than one (the physical structure, the repressed emotions and ties between family members) the narrative gives some air to readers and characters with an interplay of plot points: memories of visits to the house by a relative and the rare jaunts outside the home.
This for me is not just a story of a family and the ties that are entangled but a powerful narrative that explores the way in which social appearances and personal decisions carved in stone can lead to devastating consequences, that toxic relationships can only end in abuse. The manner in which the author hints towards certain positions and reasons without explicitly telling it so is a delight that readers who pick this book will relish. Will definitely recommend this for readers who love to be taken along by the flow of the writing and the plot unraveling.
What are the reasons for the matriarch of a family to control the movements of her two daughters who are approaching middle age? Why aren’t there visitors to the house? What happens when one daughter is allowed to spend the day outside on her own? These threads are tied in tangled knots, woven in intricate patterns by the author who skilfully makes the reader turn the pages with her vivid writing and descriptions of the mood in the air. Placed for the most part in a house that is claustrophobic in more ways than one (the physical structure, the repressed emotions and ties between family members) the narrative gives some air to readers and characters with an interplay of plot points: memories of visits to the house by a relative and the rare jaunts outside the home.
This for me is not just a story of a family and the ties that are entangled but a powerful narrative that explores the way in which social appearances and personal decisions carved in stone can lead to devastating consequences, that toxic relationships can only end in abuse. The manner in which the author hints towards certain positions and reasons without explicitly telling it so is a delight that readers who pick this book will relish. Will definitely recommend this for readers who love to be taken along by the flow of the writing and the plot unraveling.
September 25, 2022
“Hellfire” by Leesa Gazi starts with 40-year-old Lovely leaving the house, in which she lives with her parents and younger sister Beauty, by herself, first time in her life. It’s her birthday and her mother let her spend a few hours on her own. Overwhelmed with sudden freedom, Lovely goes to the market to buy fabric, goes to the park and meets a man. What will happen if she’s not home by lunchtime?
In Bangladeshi culture it is common for adult unmarried women to live with their parents. It isn’t common, though, to keep them like prisoners at home, forbidding them contact with the outside world or allowing it only with strict supervision. And yet this is what Lovely’s and Beauty’s mother does. The novel, whose plot takes place in a one day in Dhaka, albeit with many flashbacks, explores dark family secrets and interestingly, makes the mother of both women, Farida, the main protagonist. Gazi sheds light on ways Farida has developed over the years to help her control the world and people around her that she knows well will free themselves from her shackles one day. Fear of men, fear for her daughters, has continuously pushed her to make decisions she could not possibly explain to anyone. Meanwhile, Lovely tries to come to terms with her independence and recognise her emotions without anyone’s filter and guidance.
“Hellfire” is a brilliantly constructed story of psychological abuse and parental manipulation. It’s about harm overprotection can cause to individuals and pathetic results of learned helplessness. A very well written debut novel translated from Bengali by Shabnam Nadiya.
In Bangladeshi culture it is common for adult unmarried women to live with their parents. It isn’t common, though, to keep them like prisoners at home, forbidding them contact with the outside world or allowing it only with strict supervision. And yet this is what Lovely’s and Beauty’s mother does. The novel, whose plot takes place in a one day in Dhaka, albeit with many flashbacks, explores dark family secrets and interestingly, makes the mother of both women, Farida, the main protagonist. Gazi sheds light on ways Farida has developed over the years to help her control the world and people around her that she knows well will free themselves from her shackles one day. Fear of men, fear for her daughters, has continuously pushed her to make decisions she could not possibly explain to anyone. Meanwhile, Lovely tries to come to terms with her independence and recognise her emotions without anyone’s filter and guidance.
“Hellfire” is a brilliantly constructed story of psychological abuse and parental manipulation. It’s about harm overprotection can cause to individuals and pathetic results of learned helplessness. A very well written debut novel translated from Bengali by Shabnam Nadiya.
June 22, 2023
Such a great exploration of agency, womanhood, and family under patriarchy in a distinctly Bangladeshi lens. The book captured so perfectly the giddiness, disorientation, urgency, anxiety, and fear that Lovely feels as she is allowed to leave her home alone for the first time on her 40th birthday. I appreciated the time dedicated to both Lovely's journey over the course of the day and the goings-on of the rest of the household in the meanwhile, revealing the extent of the horrifying abuse and suffocation of the women in the family. Interesting especially was how differently Lovely and her sister Beauty tried to wrestle small instances of control over their lives despite their mother's authority, and the passive tactics used by the mother to quell any sort of disobedience.
Really excited also that I got to read a work translated from Bengali for the first time. I sometimes had a little trouble with the translation, but overall I felt that the language used adequately reflected Bengali sayings/speaking patterns and did a lot to heighten suspense.
Overall, this is pretty much the perfect familial horror for brown girls with overbearing parents, and I wish finding a print copy of it hadn't been so difficult.
Really excited also that I got to read a work translated from Bengali for the first time. I sometimes had a little trouble with the translation, but overall I felt that the language used adequately reflected Bengali sayings/speaking patterns and did a lot to heighten suspense.
Overall, this is pretty much the perfect familial horror for brown girls with overbearing parents, and I wish finding a print copy of it hadn't been so difficult.
April 25, 2021
First of all kudos for the translation, it was a seamless experience. I got this one in Kindle Unlimited, this is my first book by a Bangladeshi author.
.
This book confused me
This is an apt example of reading between the lines, they were so many things which the author did not say outright, but were done so subtlety.
It is a story of a family of Farida Khannum, her husband Mukhlesh Saheb and her daughters Lovely and Beauty. The story is told by multiple narrators and you switch back between today and flashbacks.
Today is Lovely's bday and she was allowed to go out alone, you would think what is such a big deal about it, unless you read it.
.
This book confused me
This is an apt example of reading between the lines, they were so many things which the author did not say outright, but were done so subtlety.
It is a story of a family of Farida Khannum, her husband Mukhlesh Saheb and her daughters Lovely and Beauty. The story is told by multiple narrators and you switch back between today and flashbacks.
Today is Lovely's bday and she was allowed to go out alone, you would think what is such a big deal about it, unless you read it.
June 26, 2021
Why is this book so underrated?
Fast paced and gripping, can be called a thriller!
Fast paced and gripping, can be called a thriller!
August 13, 2021
I love weird books and they love me right back.
January 15, 2024
I have been searching high and low for Hellfire by Leesa Gazi, translated by Shabnam Nadiya for two plus years. Originally published in Bengali with the title Rourob in 2020, Hellfire (released by Eka, Westland Publications) was the English translation by Shabnam Nadiya in the same year. The ebook edition I found was released in December 2023 under a new title 'Good Girls' published by Amazon Crossing. Although I detest Amazon and have been largely successful in avoiding using their services, I succumbed in unexpectedly finding this otherwise inaccessible book. The jacket cover art from Amazon shows it's hastily slapped together with a standard Getty image, the Hellfire jacket art looks infinitely better.
So was it all worth it after the long anticipation? Definitely. Leesa Gazi has written a taut gripping novel. From the time Lovely is given permission and steps out of her house unaccompanied for the first time in forty years, I feel like I am holding my breath in suspense. This short novel (?novella) is self-contained within the space of the family household and what turns out into a momentous day of Lovely's fortieth birthday. We are given a skillful fly on the wall overview of how the household typically operates; everything is under the strict control and purview of the matriarch of the family Farida Khanam. At first she just seems to be a perfectionist and helicopter parent to her two daughters but with elucidation of past circumstances, the control she craves over everything and everyone in her orbit spills into the extreme and abnormal.
This is a female-centric led story, the males like the girls' father Mukheles are almost an afterthought. Interestingly, the voice in Lovely's head is a male one. I have just come off reading a Korean novel where the daughter became a North Korean spy due to her mother's unconscious influence. Here I am struck again by how much Beauty and Lovely's worldviews and lives are shaped by their mother while she in turn was molded by the words and behaviour of her mother and grandmother.
To say anymore would be to spoil and reading Hellfire is an experience best fresh and unencumbered by others' impressions. I am thoroughly satisfied with it, even the ending.
So was it all worth it after the long anticipation? Definitely. Leesa Gazi has written a taut gripping novel. From the time Lovely is given permission and steps out of her house unaccompanied for the first time in forty years, I feel like I am holding my breath in suspense. This short novel (?novella) is self-contained within the space of the family household and what turns out into a momentous day of Lovely's fortieth birthday. We are given a skillful fly on the wall overview of how the household typically operates; everything is under the strict control and purview of the matriarch of the family Farida Khanam. At first she just seems to be a perfectionist and helicopter parent to her two daughters but with elucidation of past circumstances, the control she craves over everything and everyone in her orbit spills into the extreme and abnormal.
This is a female-centric led story, the males like the girls' father Mukheles are almost an afterthought. Interestingly, the voice in Lovely's head is a male one. I have just come off reading a Korean novel where the daughter became a North Korean spy due to her mother's unconscious influence. Here I am struck again by how much Beauty and Lovely's worldviews and lives are shaped by their mother while she in turn was molded by the words and behaviour of her mother and grandmother.
To say anymore would be to spoil and reading Hellfire is an experience best fresh and unencumbered by others' impressions. I am thoroughly satisfied with it, even the ending.
April 3, 2024
I picked this book up because the title literally says “a thriller” & it was under 200 pages, but damn was it a slog of a read. For a book to be a thriller, there needs to be some semblance of plot! The jumping back & forth between perspectives & times added nothing but confusion to the book. Nothing really happened the whole time! Someone gets killed on the last page, how is that thrilling?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2021
《Book Thoughts》
Hellfire by Leesa Gazi - translated from Bangla by Shabnam Nadiya
115/3, Monipuripara - the house's outer walls betray its inner claustrophobia by miles. Its occupants are Lovely, the elder daughter, Beauty, the younger one, Mukhles Shaheb, the father, and Farida Khanam, the matriarch. They live there in isolation along with two of their helps - Rabeya's Ma and the boy.
Leesa Gazi's "Hellfire" opens on the morning of 16th November 2007, of what seems like a normal day except for one aberration. It is Lovely's 40th birthday, and for the very first time in her life, her Amma, Farida Khanam, has allowed her to step outside the home alone to go to nearby Gausia Market and buy shalwar kameez. Her sister, Beauty, has not woken up, and Farida Khanam has to prepare the traditional birthday meal, so there is no choice. Or there is, but Farida is not herself today.
The entire story occurs on this one day in the lives of this family, taking us through the stories of each character, telling us their secrets and past.
Farida Khanam prides herself in having kept complete control of her household. But any controlled system is bound to unravel someday. The longer the control, the murkier the knots, the more intense the unravelling.
The book's mysterious air choked me at certain points. The claustrophobia is real. A seasoned reader might guess the darker secrets as they come along, might also at some point guess the end, but the story still manages to strike you in the face. Rigidly stressed prose navigates the thrill masterfully.
How long do you get to keep secrets? And how soon before they come to bite you?
I did not find a single character likeable, but I still could muster immense sympathy for those I tremendously disliked as well. A great job done by the author. It chilled me to the core, but it is so fast paced I could not leave the book away for long. There is just so much to talk in this book, and this might definitely be one of the group reads for Books in the Time of Chaos, someday.
Hellfire by Leesa Gazi - translated from Bangla by Shabnam Nadiya
115/3, Monipuripara - the house's outer walls betray its inner claustrophobia by miles. Its occupants are Lovely, the elder daughter, Beauty, the younger one, Mukhles Shaheb, the father, and Farida Khanam, the matriarch. They live there in isolation along with two of their helps - Rabeya's Ma and the boy.
Leesa Gazi's "Hellfire" opens on the morning of 16th November 2007, of what seems like a normal day except for one aberration. It is Lovely's 40th birthday, and for the very first time in her life, her Amma, Farida Khanam, has allowed her to step outside the home alone to go to nearby Gausia Market and buy shalwar kameez. Her sister, Beauty, has not woken up, and Farida Khanam has to prepare the traditional birthday meal, so there is no choice. Or there is, but Farida is not herself today.
The entire story occurs on this one day in the lives of this family, taking us through the stories of each character, telling us their secrets and past.
Farida Khanam prides herself in having kept complete control of her household. But any controlled system is bound to unravel someday. The longer the control, the murkier the knots, the more intense the unravelling.
The book's mysterious air choked me at certain points. The claustrophobia is real. A seasoned reader might guess the darker secrets as they come along, might also at some point guess the end, but the story still manages to strike you in the face. Rigidly stressed prose navigates the thrill masterfully.
How long do you get to keep secrets? And how soon before they come to bite you?
I did not find a single character likeable, but I still could muster immense sympathy for those I tremendously disliked as well. A great job done by the author. It chilled me to the core, but it is so fast paced I could not leave the book away for long. There is just so much to talk in this book, and this might definitely be one of the group reads for Books in the Time of Chaos, someday.
February 7, 2021
Hellfire at it's core is a family saga, with the pace of a thriller and well-written characters. The story takes place over 24 hours and several down the memory lane moments. The narrator here, isn't a single person; the family members take their turns to narrate some part of the story. The story is set in Dhaka, Bangladesh and it opens when Lovely, the elder daughter of Farida Khanam, goes out on the streets of Dhaka, alone, for the first time ever. Why is it so? Farida Khanam, the matriarch of the family, never married her daughters, Lovely and Beauty. She didn't even let Lovely and Beauty go out of their house alone, either they'll go with her, or they'll go together, but never alone. Then how did she let Lovely go out on her own? She had ordered Lovely to come back home before lunch time, but what if Lovely don't adheres to her curfew? What's even strange in the story is that Lovely has a man in her head who talks to her from time to time.
What an exhilarating experience reading this book was! I finished this book in the couse of 24 hours, that gripping the story was. I was highly anticipating the end and it totally blew my mind. The use of vernacular words was really good. The story had minimal characters but they were all amazingly sketched. The writing and the overall story is so addictive that you can't put it down once you've picked it. The translation was effortless. I enjoyed this book a lot, it was unputdownable! Even after finishing it, I have many unanswered questions. Who was Abdul Bashir? Who was that red-muffler guy? Why did Farida Khanam told her mother that Mukhles Shaheb can't be her husband? What was the secret that Farida Khanam has not told Lovely and Beauty? Why was the end the way it is?
This book was first written in 2010, by the name Rourob in Bengali by Leesa Gazi and later, translated by Shabnam Nadiya.
I'd recommend it but only to those who can read such a dark story!
What an exhilarating experience reading this book was! I finished this book in the couse of 24 hours, that gripping the story was. I was highly anticipating the end and it totally blew my mind. The use of vernacular words was really good. The story had minimal characters but they were all amazingly sketched. The writing and the overall story is so addictive that you can't put it down once you've picked it. The translation was effortless. I enjoyed this book a lot, it was unputdownable! Even after finishing it, I have many unanswered questions. Who was Abdul Bashir? Who was that red-muffler guy? Why did Farida Khanam told her mother that Mukhles Shaheb can't be her husband? What was the secret that Farida Khanam has not told Lovely and Beauty? Why was the end the way it is?
This book was first written in 2010, by the name Rourob in Bengali by Leesa Gazi and later, translated by Shabnam Nadiya.
I'd recommend it but only to those who can read such a dark story!
September 1, 2021
Uff what a ride! I’d give this 4 stars if it wasn’t for the weak translation and a disappointing end.
Over all, I really enjoyed reading this book. Begins almost with magical realism, accelerates so quickly. The story is intriguing and very tightly narrated.
For some reason I imagined Farida Khanam as Elektra abundance from the show Pose? I know it makes no sense but well the two share some characteristics.
A quick, thrilling read. I like.
(May add some details to this review later)
Over all, I really enjoyed reading this book. Begins almost with magical realism, accelerates so quickly. The story is intriguing and very tightly narrated.
For some reason I imagined Farida Khanam as Elektra abundance from the show Pose? I know it makes no sense but well the two share some characteristics.
A quick, thrilling read. I like.
(May add some details to this review later)
March 10, 2021
Utterly gripping; I literally couldn’t put it down and finished it in one, sweaty palmed, frantic, page flippin’ afternoon. I’m completely in awe at how effortlessly Gazi has written the complex and many layered characters. A beautifully written, grim, twisted jewel of a novella; highly recommended!
March 16, 2024
Hellfire is one hell of a ride. At first you don't see where's the novel headed- two woman in their late 30's/touching 40, unmarried, moored by their mother to a finite space. They don't fight back, they don't think it's abnormal, they don't feel the toxicity. And yet their is something that they unconsciously that's so dark and it makes you shudder at the end. Full marks for the tight grip the story has throughout.
March 6, 2022
रस निष्पत्ति - रौद्र😡, वीभत्स😖 (in readers)
भाव निर्मिति - क्रोध😡, भय 😨( in characters)
This book reminded me of this 1 octogenarian woman scolding me immensely in front of my family for not putting a bindi on the forehead, reminding me how it makes me Non- Hindu😒
Right there, my own granny sneered "Let her decide what she wants to do"
We don't realize how deeply patriarchy is embedded in our culture. When men do it we scream out from roof tops, but what about those women who find every instance to pull down another women on pretext of culture, tradition, family honour
This book makes you realize the ignorant fact that misogyny can be in any form, shape & sex
Power is such an addictive drug that a whiff of it & you want to control it all. Farida Khanam is that powerful head of her family. Her husband's impotency makes her potent. She has 2 daughters Lovely & Beauty (special ♥️ for author for such thoughtful puns😉) born thru alleged relationship provoked by her husband
I hear you guys say "Damn she is giving spoilers"
No, but this is not what this book is about
It is not about the power games, not about how Farida doesn't allow her daughters to leave the house alone even after the girls are 40 yrs old women, how she doesn't allow them to meet boys or even get married, all in name of safeguarding family name
This book is so much more then you can see in that black ink or read from those prompts
It is about what you comprehend from the unwritten words, what you think after you close the book, sit back & deliberate
It's about mental health challenges, freedom, stiffling boundaries, emotional abuse
When on her 40th bday Lovely goes out alone for 1st time ever, her only companion is the male voice in her head (her desire), while her mother fights demons circling her, all in a day
Author's writing is gothic, so edgy that you want to jump to next line, next page. Translation is seamless & makes for a hell of thriller read
Read it to know the unknown side of patriarchal society
P.S. I am so proud of my Granny for not letting us fall prey to Patriarchy system
भाव निर्मिति - क्रोध😡, भय 😨( in characters)
This book reminded me of this 1 octogenarian woman scolding me immensely in front of my family for not putting a bindi on the forehead, reminding me how it makes me Non- Hindu😒
Right there, my own granny sneered "Let her decide what she wants to do"
We don't realize how deeply patriarchy is embedded in our culture. When men do it we scream out from roof tops, but what about those women who find every instance to pull down another women on pretext of culture, tradition, family honour
This book makes you realize the ignorant fact that misogyny can be in any form, shape & sex
Power is such an addictive drug that a whiff of it & you want to control it all. Farida Khanam is that powerful head of her family. Her husband's impotency makes her potent. She has 2 daughters Lovely & Beauty (special ♥️ for author for such thoughtful puns😉) born thru alleged relationship provoked by her husband
I hear you guys say "Damn she is giving spoilers"
No, but this is not what this book is about
It is not about the power games, not about how Farida doesn't allow her daughters to leave the house alone even after the girls are 40 yrs old women, how she doesn't allow them to meet boys or even get married, all in name of safeguarding family name
This book is so much more then you can see in that black ink or read from those prompts
It is about what you comprehend from the unwritten words, what you think after you close the book, sit back & deliberate
It's about mental health challenges, freedom, stiffling boundaries, emotional abuse
When on her 40th bday Lovely goes out alone for 1st time ever, her only companion is the male voice in her head (her desire), while her mother fights demons circling her, all in a day
Author's writing is gothic, so edgy that you want to jump to next line, next page. Translation is seamless & makes for a hell of thriller read
Read it to know the unknown side of patriarchal society
P.S. I am so proud of my Granny for not letting us fall prey to Patriarchy system
October 27, 2020
Hellfire is my first translated read of the year and what a thought-provoking and phenomenal read it is! This book was originally written in Bengali and the author is Bangladeshi.
Hellfire is a story of a controlling mother and her two adult daughters in their late 30s. Their mother has always controlled them. They never went out of the house on their own. So when the elder sister, Lovely, goes out of the house alone for the first time, on her 40th birthday, the house is in chaos. Farida Khanam, the mother, couldn’t understand why she gave her permission to Lovely to go out. And the younger sister, Beauty, couldn’t understand how her sister was allowed to go out of the house though she herself never got that chance. What we see afterwards, in a span of 24 hours, is a family full of chaos and secrets.
The story is character oriented and in Farida, we see a woman who wanted to be the matriarch of the family. The decisions she took to protect her family and her daughters, the choices she made, and the sacrifices she gave to be what she was today. But at the same time, the story also shows how it resulted in failure and collateral damage because of her need to be in power.
The setting is of Bangladesh so it does feels similar to Indian household. Most of the Indian mothers are controlling too but I can’t imagine a mother being this much control-freak 🙊 Lovely said that ‘they had a routine in the house that was immutable as the laws of nature’ and if the sisters did something wrong their punishment was ‘to be locked up in their rooms’. This kind of family setting definitely gives creepy vibes. Their is a kind of thrill throughout the story which led to the finale of the book, which is..insane.
In short, Hellfire is a tale of paranoia, mental illness, secrets and controlling relationships; written with a crisp and masterful style by Leesa Gazi with diverse set of characters, that shouldn’t be missed. Definitely recommend!
Hellfire is a story of a controlling mother and her two adult daughters in their late 30s. Their mother has always controlled them. They never went out of the house on their own. So when the elder sister, Lovely, goes out of the house alone for the first time, on her 40th birthday, the house is in chaos. Farida Khanam, the mother, couldn’t understand why she gave her permission to Lovely to go out. And the younger sister, Beauty, couldn’t understand how her sister was allowed to go out of the house though she herself never got that chance. What we see afterwards, in a span of 24 hours, is a family full of chaos and secrets.
The story is character oriented and in Farida, we see a woman who wanted to be the matriarch of the family. The decisions she took to protect her family and her daughters, the choices she made, and the sacrifices she gave to be what she was today. But at the same time, the story also shows how it resulted in failure and collateral damage because of her need to be in power.
The setting is of Bangladesh so it does feels similar to Indian household. Most of the Indian mothers are controlling too but I can’t imagine a mother being this much control-freak 🙊 Lovely said that ‘they had a routine in the house that was immutable as the laws of nature’ and if the sisters did something wrong their punishment was ‘to be locked up in their rooms’. This kind of family setting definitely gives creepy vibes. Their is a kind of thrill throughout the story which led to the finale of the book, which is..insane.
In short, Hellfire is a tale of paranoia, mental illness, secrets and controlling relationships; written with a crisp and masterful style by Leesa Gazi with diverse set of characters, that shouldn’t be missed. Definitely recommend!
June 1, 2021
“Hellfire” is a peculiar, gripping and clever tale. The most human story, with hidden secrets and tragedies laden on its bare back. A story of obsession and toxicity, and a hidden motive to strive for perfection while destroying everything that comes in the way.
When I think about this book, I’m taken back to the exact hour I finished this, my mind in shambles. It was one hell of an experience, something I’d recommend to everybody who wants a ride to the darkest part of a human mind.
We say that things get lost in translation, but I can say it for sure that this is one of the best translations I’ve read. I was taken to the streets of Dhaka, and amidst a house that looked normal on the outside, but had within itself the most eerie past and a worse present. This story doesn’t aim at evoking sympathy in you, but some feeling that you hadn’t known was possible to feel. There were small things and acts of symbolism that were so well thought out, and are so subtle that they’ll become negligible if you don’t look closely. That’s one of the reasons this was a masterful piece of literature.
The book was crazy, converting your dopamine rush of the first half into the adrenaline rush of the last half and you’re left shook, wondering how you didn’t see it before, and how a book about a dysfunctional family could invade your mind space without you even feeling it.
The writing was perfect for the kind of book it is. It keeps you on the edge and excites you even if the story is suspenseful. The whole idea portrayed in the book was very different, and though it seems alien to you in the beginning, it takes you in - in the most impressive way ever.
And slowly, it starts to devour you.
When I think about this book, I’m taken back to the exact hour I finished this, my mind in shambles. It was one hell of an experience, something I’d recommend to everybody who wants a ride to the darkest part of a human mind.
We say that things get lost in translation, but I can say it for sure that this is one of the best translations I’ve read. I was taken to the streets of Dhaka, and amidst a house that looked normal on the outside, but had within itself the most eerie past and a worse present. This story doesn’t aim at evoking sympathy in you, but some feeling that you hadn’t known was possible to feel. There were small things and acts of symbolism that were so well thought out, and are so subtle that they’ll become negligible if you don’t look closely. That’s one of the reasons this was a masterful piece of literature.
The book was crazy, converting your dopamine rush of the first half into the adrenaline rush of the last half and you’re left shook, wondering how you didn’t see it before, and how a book about a dysfunctional family could invade your mind space without you even feeling it.
The writing was perfect for the kind of book it is. It keeps you on the edge and excites you even if the story is suspenseful. The whole idea portrayed in the book was very different, and though it seems alien to you in the beginning, it takes you in - in the most impressive way ever.
And slowly, it starts to devour you.
November 12, 2020
"Hellfire" by Leesa Gazi, translated from Bengali by Shabnam Nadiya, one of the most exhilarating debuts, is a story of two sisters, Lovely and Beauty, who have been forced to stay in their house all their lives by tenor mother Farida Khanam. So when Lovely turns forty, and her mother allows her to go out on her own to explore the bazaars, Lovely could not help but take up the offer, but as she ventures out in the streets of Dhaka, a voice in her head, that has long been made a home there, directs her to a deep dark place, and what follows is a twisted tale of toxic family ties, faith, and social hierarchy.
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🍁When I started the book, I was expecting the narration to go slow since most of the novels based on translated works and of southeast Asian origin are slow, but I was in for a sweet surprise, for the narration is absolutely gripping and from the beginning, one is engrossed and engagement in the tale of a dysfunctional family, holding their breaths at times, to anticipate and fear what lays ahead.
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🌼 The tale shifts between memories of Farida Khanam and Lovely, and as they travel through their memories in turns, we undiscover the friction of a typical household in a society where it's expected of the women to always uphold the 'honor' of the house.
Special mention of the translator, Shabnam Nadiya, who's translation manages to get the nerve right of the context and maintains the thrill and fast-paced nature of the tale.
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🍁When I started the book, I was expecting the narration to go slow since most of the novels based on translated works and of southeast Asian origin are slow, but I was in for a sweet surprise, for the narration is absolutely gripping and from the beginning, one is engrossed and engagement in the tale of a dysfunctional family, holding their breaths at times, to anticipate and fear what lays ahead.
.
.
🌼 The tale shifts between memories of Farida Khanam and Lovely, and as they travel through their memories in turns, we undiscover the friction of a typical household in a society where it's expected of the women to always uphold the 'honor' of the house.
Special mention of the translator, Shabnam Nadiya, who's translation manages to get the nerve right of the context and maintains the thrill and fast-paced nature of the tale.
October 27, 2020
How does it feel to step outside your home for the first time, alone, in 40 years? Benign under a toxic guardianship of their mother, the hellfire narrates the stories of two sisters Lovely and Beauty who live under complete control and monitoring of their mother Frida Khanam. While the intentions of protecting one’s own children isn’t wrong but the life they are made to live raises several ethical questions. Translated from the original bengali novel, Hellfire revolves around several issues like sisterhood, sibling jealousy, unrequited love, unhealthy relationships, adultery and so on. Set in Bangladesh, the fictional story of a dysfunctional family gives us some level of comfort and reassurance that ours is not the only one with various shades of tensions and conflicts.
May 8, 2021
In one word: Haunting.
I am in awe of this translation. It captured the strangeness, the perplexity of Farida's dysfunctional family spectacularly. This is not one of those stories that are neatly woven and tied with a ribbon; its intent is to make you gasp and leave you with an uncomfortable feeling. Truth be told, you don't know what to make of the story arc. Tremendous job done here.
Hats off, Leesa.
I am in awe of this translation. It captured the strangeness, the perplexity of Farida's dysfunctional family spectacularly. This is not one of those stories that are neatly woven and tied with a ribbon; its intent is to make you gasp and leave you with an uncomfortable feeling. Truth be told, you don't know what to make of the story arc. Tremendous job done here.
Hats off, Leesa.
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