Stories Holding a Mirror to Bangladeshi Society

Mashiul Alam is an accomplished writer from Bangladesh who uses journalism to vitalize his fiction and elevate it to the higher realms of consciousness-raising. The author adeptly balances his journalist’s profession with his passion for writing. Known for his prolificity, Mashiul Alam has bagged the debut Sylhet Mirror Prize for literature (2019) and the IFIC Bank Literature Prize (2020) for his fiction. Along with authoring phenomenal books like Tonushreer Shongey Dittiyo Raat and Ghora Masud, he has also translated Dostoevsky and Bertrand Russel into Bengali. Mashiul Alam’s The Meat Market: Ten Stories and a Novella (2024), translated from the Bengali by Shabnam Nadiya,is the most riveting and richly rendered example of fiction by a socially-conscious journalist. It is a definitive exposé of the tumultuous Bangladeshi socio-political cohesion. This award-winning collection is thought-provoking and showcases Mashiul Alam’s steadfast grip on the state of affairs. In ten unique short stories, the author dovetails stark realism and magic realism to reveal the Bangladeshi lived realities.