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Uprising
Any moment now, we would grow up, and we would become them, waking late and hungry and with a job that had no name
On a desolate, sinking island, a group of children witness their mothers living lives of cruelty and servitude.
Bought and sold by Amma, the sadistic madam who was once herself sold into slavery, the women have learned to accept their fate. Yet their children weave fantastic tales of escape, imagining that someday they will leave the island and enjoy a life of freedom.
When Kusum Khan, a young, educated woman from the city, is forcibly brought to the island, she too is subjected to Amma’s violent induction. Yet Kusum refuses to yield, and soon the collective complacency of her fellow prisoners turns into a ferocity and defiance. Together, they begin a rebellion that will upend their island, their world and the very order of things.
An earth-shattering drama of resistance and female power, Uprising gives voice to the silenced through the story of a revolution no one saw coming.
On a desolate, sinking island, a group of children witness their mothers living lives of cruelty and servitude.
Bought and sold by Amma, the sadistic madam who was once herself sold into slavery, the women have learned to accept their fate. Yet their children weave fantastic tales of escape, imagining that someday they will leave the island and enjoy a life of freedom.
When Kusum Khan, a young, educated woman from the city, is forcibly brought to the island, she too is subjected to Amma’s violent induction. Yet Kusum refuses to yield, and soon the collective complacency of her fellow prisoners turns into a ferocity and defiance. Together, they begin a rebellion that will upend their island, their world and the very order of things.
An earth-shattering drama of resistance and female power, Uprising gives voice to the silenced through the story of a revolution no one saw coming.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published May 21, 2026
About the author
Tahmima Anam
25 books738 followersTahmima Anam is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, and anthropologist. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a Granta Best Young British Novelist, and winner of a Commonwealth Writers Prize. Her work has been published in Granta, The New York Times, and The Guardian. She was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh and lives in London, where she is on the board of ROLI, a music technology startup founded by her husband.
The Startup Wife (07/13/2021) is her latest novel.
The Startup Wife (07/13/2021) is her latest novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Less than 200 pages, this short novel took me several days to read . It’s dark, explicit and one of the most gutwrenching books I’ve read in a while. We see through the eyes of the children of women held captive as prostitutes on an island off Bangladesh. The collective voice of young girls with an innocent honesty giving their view of their mothers’ plight and their own is heartbreaking to say the least.
Through these little girls we hear the stories of their mothers and how it came to be that they were sold to Amma, the madam of the island brothel who subjects them to the vile desires of the men who go to the island . Herself once sold, she now controls the lives of these women, some young girls , owning them in return for feeding them and their children, taking all of their earnings for their essentials keeping them always in debt with no chance for escape. They are imprisoned living with the fear of their daughters being sold as they were. This is a powerful story of female resillience and strength to rebel and take back their freedom.
For those who might be bothered, it’s raw with no holds barred on explicit descriptions of sexual encounters. In an interview, the author indicated that this is a fictional account based on a real place, and real circumstances , but she wanted it to be representative of oppressed women over the world, of sex trafficking in so many places . An eye opener for those of us who might have imagined the lives of women and girls taken into captivity and subjected to the unimaginable . A tough but important read.
I received a copy of this from Scribner through NetGalley.
Through these little girls we hear the stories of their mothers and how it came to be that they were sold to Amma, the madam of the island brothel who subjects them to the vile desires of the men who go to the island . Herself once sold, she now controls the lives of these women, some young girls , owning them in return for feeding them and their children, taking all of their earnings for their essentials keeping them always in debt with no chance for escape. They are imprisoned living with the fear of their daughters being sold as they were. This is a powerful story of female resillience and strength to rebel and take back their freedom.
For those who might be bothered, it’s raw with no holds barred on explicit descriptions of sexual encounters. In an interview, the author indicated that this is a fictional account based on a real place, and real circumstances , but she wanted it to be representative of oppressed women over the world, of sex trafficking in so many places . An eye opener for those of us who might have imagined the lives of women and girls taken into captivity and subjected to the unimaginable . A tough but important read.
I received a copy of this from Scribner through NetGalley.
July 25, 2026
Writing about dark subjects is an act of balance that not many writers can find, and when starting reading Uprising, I had the impression that I started the wrong book. The things happening on the page were too normal, vague, silenced, but I discovered that it was just part of Tahmima Anam's way to find that balance. Yes, this is a feminist novel, a protest novel like many reviewers find easier to say, but even more so it is a story about sex slavery / forced prostitution. Don't expect not to see the dirty realities of such a world.
Told through the voices of the children of the victims, it has that tone of a fairytale searching for a saviour to appear. And when the villain is a woman, Amma, the madam of this brothel on the isolated island, why can't the saviour also be a woman? Kusum, despite her education, finds herself sold to Amma. Even though she has a history of resistance against her government, she ends up in a world where she learns that defiance against old, abusive systems is deaf when you are alone.
This novel is inspired by a real place in a very conservative country. It makes you conscious of why and how something like this was always permitted. It all goes back to the beneficiaries. The great lesson of this novel is to go after them if you want your protest to have an impact.
Told through the voices of the children of the victims, it has that tone of a fairytale searching for a saviour to appear. And when the villain is a woman, Amma, the madam of this brothel on the isolated island, why can't the saviour also be a woman? Kusum, despite her education, finds herself sold to Amma. Even though she has a history of resistance against her government, she ends up in a world where she learns that defiance against old, abusive systems is deaf when you are alone.
This novel is inspired by a real place in a very conservative country. It makes you conscious of why and how something like this was always permitted. It all goes back to the beneficiaries. The great lesson of this novel is to go after them if you want your protest to have an impact.
September 20, 2026
Wow! So powerful!
The story of an island brothel in the Bengal region
It is told by the sex worker’s children, who have grown up on the island… and know they will someday be forced into the same fate as their mothers.
Amma is the madam of the island and she keeps these women drugged up and indebted to her.
A young woman arrives…Kusum Khan who is sold to the island by her family..disowned by them… she is educated and beautiful and at first all the women are jealous of her…
however Kusum becomes their hope for freedom.
This can be a difficult read… but you find yourself rooting so hard for these women.
I believe the power of a group of enraged women can make anything happen.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you also to Angela M, for making me aware of this book!
The story of an island brothel in the Bengal region
It is told by the sex worker’s children, who have grown up on the island… and know they will someday be forced into the same fate as their mothers.
Amma is the madam of the island and she keeps these women drugged up and indebted to her.
A young woman arrives…Kusum Khan who is sold to the island by her family..disowned by them… she is educated and beautiful and at first all the women are jealous of her…
however Kusum becomes their hope for freedom.
This can be a difficult read… but you find yourself rooting so hard for these women.
I believe the power of a group of enraged women can make anything happen.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you also to Angela M, for making me aware of this book!
July 30, 2026
I love Jeanette Winterson's writing and read her Substack regularly. In her post for 28th July 2026, she included a picture of her work space and this book was laying on top of her desk. So, I added it to my too read list out of curiosity.
This was a compelling read that went to some unexpected dark places. Kusum leads the women to raise up from sexual slavery and fight for their freedom. The women have to overcome their past and present and reach for a brighter future. Kusum is their leading light and comes up with a fantastic plan to keep people from coming to the brothel island where they live.
They will appear to be mad, so no-one will want to come to the island. “We will live here, in our own filth and dare them to touch us,” Kusum said. “There it was, the daughter of the forest had returned and she had found a whole new way to ward off the world. A way to keep out all the things that would force our mothers into the women they were no longer willing to become.”
The women need time to heal and time to adjust to another way of thinking, another way of living. Kusum continues to lead them and teach them. She hopes to broaden their minds and educate them for independence.
“Words are knives, [Kusum] said. Information is everything. Knowledge is power.
We [the women] told her we didn’t know what that meant.
It means when you tell the right person the right thing at the very moment they need to hear it, it’s like setting off ten thousand fireworks in the sky.”
This was a compelling read that went to some unexpected dark places. Kusum leads the women to raise up from sexual slavery and fight for their freedom. The women have to overcome their past and present and reach for a brighter future. Kusum is their leading light and comes up with a fantastic plan to keep people from coming to the brothel island where they live.
They will appear to be mad, so no-one will want to come to the island. “We will live here, in our own filth and dare them to touch us,” Kusum said. “There it was, the daughter of the forest had returned and she had found a whole new way to ward off the world. A way to keep out all the things that would force our mothers into the women they were no longer willing to become.”
The women need time to heal and time to adjust to another way of thinking, another way of living. Kusum continues to lead them and teach them. She hopes to broaden their minds and educate them for independence.
“Words are knives, [Kusum] said. Information is everything. Knowledge is power.
We [the women] told her we didn’t know what that meant.
It means when you tell the right person the right thing at the very moment they need to hear it, it’s like setting off ten thousand fireworks in the sky.”
June 29, 2026
I requested this book based on my love for Tahmima Anam's A Golden Age, and I am so glad I did.
Set on an island off the coast of Bangladesh near the Sundarbans, this is the story of a group of women sold into sexual slavery, mostly by their own relatives. Several of their daughters live on the island with them until the girls come of age, when they too will be forced into the same bleak life. Change arrives with Kusum, a newcomer who took part in a rebellion before being sold to Amma, the woman who runs the island's prostitution business. The women come to believe Kusum is Bon Bibi, the guardian spirit of the forest, and her defiance becomes the spark that helps them rebel.
This is an emotionally heavy novel, filled with pain, violence, and exploitation. It is also beautifully written, and a powerful story of survival, resistance, and standing up to oppression. It is a challenging read, and a memorable one.
Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the advance reader's copy.
Set on an island off the coast of Bangladesh near the Sundarbans, this is the story of a group of women sold into sexual slavery, mostly by their own relatives. Several of their daughters live on the island with them until the girls come of age, when they too will be forced into the same bleak life. Change arrives with Kusum, a newcomer who took part in a rebellion before being sold to Amma, the woman who runs the island's prostitution business. The women come to believe Kusum is Bon Bibi, the guardian spirit of the forest, and her defiance becomes the spark that helps them rebel.
This is an emotionally heavy novel, filled with pain, violence, and exploitation. It is also beautifully written, and a powerful story of survival, resistance, and standing up to oppression. It is a challenging read, and a memorable one.
Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the advance reader's copy.
May 30, 2026
A harrowing read, but so well written and important. We follow several women, enslaved by Amma who forces them into prostitution, on a small sinking island off Bangladesh. Every day cusyoners come on the boat, and every day the women fear their young daughters will be put to work by Amma. Kusum, arrived on the island recently, starts to plan their rebellion and escape.
It is a graphic and horrible book, but I think it needed to be honest in its depiction of sexual slavery, and I liked the chorus of characters and the children's voices. I want to read more by Tahmima Anam, this was a very accomplished feminist novel.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
It is a graphic and horrible book, but I think it needed to be honest in its depiction of sexual slavery, and I liked the chorus of characters and the children's voices. I want to read more by Tahmima Anam, this was a very accomplished feminist novel.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Uprising by Tahmima Anam is the latest novel from the award winning Bangladeshi writer. This is a dark, unflinching tale whose beating heart is Kusum Khan, a young woman forcibly bought to slavery at the hands of local madam Amma. Inspired by real events from the Bangladesh island of Banishanta, this is an extremely well-written engaging tale, which despite having such darkness at its core, doesn't lose sight of the light. Kusum is a beautifully drawn character and our beacon in the dark. I was thoroughly won over by this novel, even if some of it's subject matter is difficult to comprehend - Anam has done a superb job of balancing the subject matter against the poetry of the prose, and Uprising is an excellent novel .
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
October 3, 2026
There are good reviews of 'Uprising' already on here, so I won't repeat what has already been said except to remind the reader, given the off-putting subject matter of this novel, that it is a riotous proto-feministic book full of hope. Through children's eyes unprotected from the horrors of their lives, the novel does not shy away from the reality of sexual slavery but presents the matter devoid of salaciousness.
The novel is strong on the particulars of human trafficking. The girls have been lured into this form of modern slavery with promises of marriage or job offers. People do not have to be transported across borders for trafficking to occur, and as children they cannot have given consent. According to Antislavery international, between 2020 and 2023 over 200000 people were trafficked. 38% were children. 36% were trafficked into sexual exploitation.
Environmental degradation is another key issue raised by the book, particularly the global salinisation crisis that is impacting the Bengal delta with particular intensity. Anthropogenic sea-level rise, groundwater extraction and tropical cyclonic surges adulterate drinking and irrigation water, impacting agriculture and livelihoods.
Magical belief gives the children hope, helping them cope with terror, but ultimately they acknowledge salvation comes "in an entirely earthly form, one of flesh, bone and song".
The novel is strong on the particulars of human trafficking. The girls have been lured into this form of modern slavery with promises of marriage or job offers. People do not have to be transported across borders for trafficking to occur, and as children they cannot have given consent. According to Antislavery international, between 2020 and 2023 over 200000 people were trafficked. 38% were children. 36% were trafficked into sexual exploitation.
Environmental degradation is another key issue raised by the book, particularly the global salinisation crisis that is impacting the Bengal delta with particular intensity. Anthropogenic sea-level rise, groundwater extraction and tropical cyclonic surges adulterate drinking and irrigation water, impacting agriculture and livelihoods.
Magical belief gives the children hope, helping them cope with terror, but ultimately they acknowledge salvation comes "in an entirely earthly form, one of flesh, bone and song".
June 14, 2026
Unflinching. Harrowing. Explicit. Fierce.
June 27, 2026
I think i was hoping for a more triumphant ending then we got, from having heard the author talk about it. It is told by a chorus of children, who imagine the protagonist as a folk tale protector but there was much more realism to the story than that would suggest in terms of plot and content but with a slightly folk tale tone that perhaps made both the horrors being described and the protest and resistance of the women feel a little bit removed. Overall, it was very readable, very moving at points, and I appreciated it a lot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2026
It shouldn’t be possible for a book covering this many heavy, painful topics to leave me unmoved, but it did.
We follow a group of children growing up in squalor on a tiny brothel island in the middle of a river in Bangladesh; the women there are kept in dept bondage, are being mistreated by the brothel madam, and to make matters worse, global warming is making the waters rise and slowly drowning the island. Only one girl who is forcibly brought to the island fights against their imprisonment and eventually leads the women in the titular uprising.
So why did it leave me unmoved? A lot of the women, including the madam, get short chapters exploring their backstories which are all horrible to a fault, but because none of the characters were differentiated from each other before or even treated as individuals, it’s hard to provoke any feeling over their stories apart from shock and revulsion. But even that became a bit stale by the time we got to the third story about a girl who had experienced rape and abuse. I can never quite define where the line between showing the world in all its ugliness and wallowing in this ugliness for shock value is, but I think this one leaned too far into it, especially because all these terrible things happen to mostly faceless, featureless characters.
The narrator is also largely impersonal, an unnamed girl and/ or a chorus of all the children on the island, so again, it’s hard to care about what happens to them individually.
It’s all just quite… didactic. If it wasn’t as graphic, this would be the type of book you’d have to read in English class.
We follow a group of children growing up in squalor on a tiny brothel island in the middle of a river in Bangladesh; the women there are kept in dept bondage, are being mistreated by the brothel madam, and to make matters worse, global warming is making the waters rise and slowly drowning the island. Only one girl who is forcibly brought to the island fights against their imprisonment and eventually leads the women in the titular uprising.
So why did it leave me unmoved? A lot of the women, including the madam, get short chapters exploring their backstories which are all horrible to a fault, but because none of the characters were differentiated from each other before or even treated as individuals, it’s hard to provoke any feeling over their stories apart from shock and revulsion. But even that became a bit stale by the time we got to the third story about a girl who had experienced rape and abuse. I can never quite define where the line between showing the world in all its ugliness and wallowing in this ugliness for shock value is, but I think this one leaned too far into it, especially because all these terrible things happen to mostly faceless, featureless characters.
The narrator is also largely impersonal, an unnamed girl and/ or a chorus of all the children on the island, so again, it’s hard to care about what happens to them individually.
It’s all just quite… didactic. If it wasn’t as graphic, this would be the type of book you’d have to read in English class.
September 18, 2026
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The setting: "On a desolate, sinking island off the coast of Banglaldesh, a group of children witness their mothers living lives of cruelty and servitude. Bought and sold by Amma, the sadistic madam who was once herself sold into slavery, the women have learned to accept their fate." [as sex workers] Yet their children weave fantastic tales of escape, imagining that someday they will leave the island and enjoy a life of freedom. When Kusum Khan, a young, [more] educated woman from the city, is forcibly brought to the island... " [she] refuses to yield, and plans a rebellion. A very slow build up to this "uprising."
"Inspired by" a real-life floating brothel off the coast of Bangladesh this is a story of desparation, servitude and exploitation, resistance, community, and ultimately hope. The bonds of female power--especially Kusum with the children [the mothers not interested and/or durgged and too indebted to Amma to dream] but also of Amma over all the women and children. Bleak. Dark. Original. Grim [cannot stress enough].
Chapters headlined by the MANY various characters to include shopkeepers, various patrons, boat operators, family members. as well as events/objects such as a phone, storm, and tube well.
Definitely would have been helped by a glossary; the foreign terms do not show with the look up function.
3.5 but rounding up. Cannot say I "liked" it but it was a compelling, powerful read.
The setting: "On a desolate, sinking island off the coast of Banglaldesh, a group of children witness their mothers living lives of cruelty and servitude. Bought and sold by Amma, the sadistic madam who was once herself sold into slavery, the women have learned to accept their fate." [as sex workers] Yet their children weave fantastic tales of escape, imagining that someday they will leave the island and enjoy a life of freedom. When Kusum Khan, a young, [more] educated woman from the city, is forcibly brought to the island... " [she] refuses to yield, and plans a rebellion. A very slow build up to this "uprising."
"Inspired by" a real-life floating brothel off the coast of Bangladesh this is a story of desparation, servitude and exploitation, resistance, community, and ultimately hope. The bonds of female power--especially Kusum with the children [the mothers not interested and/or durgged and too indebted to Amma to dream] but also of Amma over all the women and children. Bleak. Dark. Original. Grim [cannot stress enough].
Chapters headlined by the MANY various characters to include shopkeepers, various patrons, boat operators, family members. as well as events/objects such as a phone, storm, and tube well.
Definitely would have been helped by a glossary; the foreign terms do not show with the look up function.
3.5 but rounding up. Cannot say I "liked" it but it was a compelling, powerful read.
September 2, 2026
Well written book about women who are subjugated into prostitution on a small muddy island in the delta of the Bay of Bengal. Amma is the lady in charge, initiating them into this life, wheeling and dealing, bullying and keeping them in debt.
Each woman has her own story of how she came to be on the island; each one has been broken physically and mentally and sees no way out.
Yet when a new woman comes to the island, Khusum, works to restore some hope and dignity and give them a chance at life and ensure the girls know there is a different life out there.
Tahmima Anam writes well; her writing is eloquent and fluid, despite some v graphic sexual details and profanities. As such she does not sugar coat or gloss over the realities of their grim existence.
Each woman has her own story of how she came to be on the island; each one has been broken physically and mentally and sees no way out.
Yet when a new woman comes to the island, Khusum, works to restore some hope and dignity and give them a chance at life and ensure the girls know there is a different life out there.
Tahmima Anam writes well; her writing is eloquent and fluid, despite some v graphic sexual details and profanities. As such she does not sugar coat or gloss over the realities of their grim existence.
July 13, 2026
A short book that sometimes made me clutch my pearls - it’s a difficult read and I wanted to turn away sometimes. It is unutterably grim BUT it’s a fable like story that has moments of beauty and is a story of solidarity, collectivism and female empowerment.
July 28, 2026
4.75
Wow.
Wow.
September 10, 2026
2.5 stars
I’ve read and liked the author’s earlier books much. This one just didn’t work for me. It was completely lacking in nuance and texture and character development. Told in the collective voice of the children of the prostitutes of a drowning island (based on a real place) it is a high pitched telling that breaks the ‘show, don’t tell’ with every sentence. It seemed contrived and affected, its raising of the themes of women’s oppression and climate change seeming more like poverty porn and less like a sincere exploration.
I’ve read and liked the author’s earlier books much. This one just didn’t work for me. It was completely lacking in nuance and texture and character development. Told in the collective voice of the children of the prostitutes of a drowning island (based on a real place) it is a high pitched telling that breaks the ‘show, don’t tell’ with every sentence. It seemed contrived and affected, its raising of the themes of women’s oppression and climate change seeming more like poverty porn and less like a sincere exploration.
September 25, 2026
Harrowing, dark and powerful.
Read
August 14, 2026One of those novels that really, really fuck you up. Incredibly depressing.
July 9, 2026
Absolutely incredible, I was hooked from the start and completely invested in the women and girls’s path to freedom from page 1. Kusum’s an inspiration and
Anam’s writing was flawless.
Anam’s writing was flawless.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I don't usually read books about the suffering of women, not just because I am too soft for it, but I approach reading as an escape from reality, and children and women trapped and abused on a secluded island are a little too close to reality. But this book is beautifully written and leaves us a powerful message. An impact that stays with us long after it is finished.
I especially loved the children as a collective and the system as the antagonist, because how can I demonize anyone at all when Anam tells us all their stories with immense grace?
I especially loved the children as a collective and the system as the antagonist, because how can I demonize anyone at all when Anam tells us all their stories with immense grace?
July 17, 2026
Books on female rage have always been my favourite, and Uprising is exactly the kind of story that reminds me why. It made my blood boil with anger, yet somehow left me filled with hope by the time I reached the final page. Tahmima Anam's writing is absolutely impeccable raw, lyrical, and deeply evocative. She captures rage, resilience, grief, and hope with such honesty that every emotion feels tangible. Despite being a relatively short novel, it carries an incredible emotional weight that lingers long after you've finished reading.
What impressed me the most was the unique narrative choice of telling the story through the voices of the island's children. Their innocence contrasts heartbreakingly with the brutal reality surrounding them, making every revelation about the women's past even more devastating. Each woman carries a different story of betrayal, survival, and loss, yet they are all connected by the same system of oppression. Instead of reducing them to victims, Anam gives each of them dignity, and a voice.
Kusum was undoubtedly the heart of the story. Her refusal to surrender, even when everything was designed to break her spirit, became the spark that ignited courage in everyone around her. Watching hope slowly spread among the women was one of the most rewarding parts of the novel. The story also subtly weaves together themes of patriarchy, exploitation, environmental vulnerability, and collective resistance without ever losing sight of its deeply human characters.
The ending left me feeling triumphant, not just for Kusum, but for every woman on that island who dared to dream of freedom again. Uprising is heartbreaking, powerful, and unforgettable. It is a story of female rage transformed into collective strength, proving that even in the darkest places, hope can become an act of rebellion.
*FAVOURITE QUOTES:*
“Wasn’t that the definition of heaven–the freedom to do whatever you wanted? Some of us said, How can it be heaven, no one cares if we live or die.”
“They didn’t care anymore that she was young and beautiful and looked like she didn’t belong there–what good was a flower if it lay dead, refusing to bloom?”
What impressed me the most was the unique narrative choice of telling the story through the voices of the island's children. Their innocence contrasts heartbreakingly with the brutal reality surrounding them, making every revelation about the women's past even more devastating. Each woman carries a different story of betrayal, survival, and loss, yet they are all connected by the same system of oppression. Instead of reducing them to victims, Anam gives each of them dignity, and a voice.
Kusum was undoubtedly the heart of the story. Her refusal to surrender, even when everything was designed to break her spirit, became the spark that ignited courage in everyone around her. Watching hope slowly spread among the women was one of the most rewarding parts of the novel. The story also subtly weaves together themes of patriarchy, exploitation, environmental vulnerability, and collective resistance without ever losing sight of its deeply human characters.
The ending left me feeling triumphant, not just for Kusum, but for every woman on that island who dared to dream of freedom again. Uprising is heartbreaking, powerful, and unforgettable. It is a story of female rage transformed into collective strength, proving that even in the darkest places, hope can become an act of rebellion.
*FAVOURITE QUOTES:*
“Wasn’t that the definition of heaven–the freedom to do whatever you wanted? Some of us said, How can it be heaven, no one cares if we live or die.”
“They didn’t care anymore that she was young and beautiful and looked like she didn’t belong there–what good was a flower if it lay dead, refusing to bloom?”
August 16, 2026
When I started reading this book it felt chilling and also there was a bit of poetic tone in narration style. I was in doubt, is it a feminist fantasy? Because at start, everything was surreal, but the stories that were happening inside were real, the places were real and still it carried a sublime obscure air in the story telling style which made me stop and re-think.
It is a protest story, it delves into sex slaves life, the oldest business in society, it talks about force slavery, but it is also telling about a systematic approach. A system that forced women to be in prison on an island and do what men want to do with them. When they were not on the island, in their previous life, the women were manipulated to do what their family or fathers wanted to do, and when they are not allowed to return to the society, they are forced to be sex slaves, either way they are always prisoners of this society.
Live in society or in an island, women are always prisoners, they are happily married yet they are prisoners, they are mothers and daughters still they are prisoners, women are prisoners yet women are the prime guardian of this prison, breaking the chain seems impossible.
I guess at the end of the book Kusum understands the whole system and that is why she chose to live on the island, she didn't know how to live in society like this.
The whole book narrated from children's perspective, children of the island, and maybe that's why it feels a little vague, sometimes distanced. It revealed a lot, absolutely stunning and dark novel that beautifully culminated. It revealed how consciously everything is happening in the world.
I have never read anything like this.
Tahmima Anam's book makes us realise that darker, filthier side of humanity is always permitted, it was never meant to be diminished.
It is a protest story, it delves into sex slaves life, the oldest business in society, it talks about force slavery, but it is also telling about a systematic approach. A system that forced women to be in prison on an island and do what men want to do with them. When they were not on the island, in their previous life, the women were manipulated to do what their family or fathers wanted to do, and when they are not allowed to return to the society, they are forced to be sex slaves, either way they are always prisoners of this society.
Live in society or in an island, women are always prisoners, they are happily married yet they are prisoners, they are mothers and daughters still they are prisoners, women are prisoners yet women are the prime guardian of this prison, breaking the chain seems impossible.
I guess at the end of the book Kusum understands the whole system and that is why she chose to live on the island, she didn't know how to live in society like this.
The whole book narrated from children's perspective, children of the island, and maybe that's why it feels a little vague, sometimes distanced. It revealed a lot, absolutely stunning and dark novel that beautifully culminated. It revealed how consciously everything is happening in the world.
I have never read anything like this.
Tahmima Anam's book makes us realise that darker, filthier side of humanity is always permitted, it was never meant to be diminished.
August 1, 2026
Written by anthropologist Tahmima Anam and told from the perspective of the female children of enslaved sex workers on a Bangladeshi island. The fictional island is based on a real place, Banishanta, under constant threat of rising sea level.
The mothers are sold by their families to the brothel/prison's madam Amma, who keeps them captive through debt and drugs. Little changes generation to generation, as the daughters are groomed to take the place of their mothers as soon as they reach puberty. They receive no education and have no hope for their future.
Everything changes with the arrival of Kusum, an educated young woman raised on the mainland. The children believe Kusum to be the incarnation of the forest goddess Bonbibi.
This is an extremely powerful and important book. Despite its slim size, it took me quite a while to finish it because of the difficult subject matter. But I'm very glad I did. I will never forget this story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the eARC.
The mothers are sold by their families to the brothel/prison's madam Amma, who keeps them captive through debt and drugs. Little changes generation to generation, as the daughters are groomed to take the place of their mothers as soon as they reach puberty. They receive no education and have no hope for their future.
Everything changes with the arrival of Kusum, an educated young woman raised on the mainland. The children believe Kusum to be the incarnation of the forest goddess Bonbibi.
This is an extremely powerful and important book. Despite its slim size, it took me quite a while to finish it because of the difficult subject matter. But I'm very glad I did. I will never forget this story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the eARC.
August 30, 2026
Uprising is set on a small, sinking island off the coast of Bangladesh, where women are tricked into coming there and then forced into prostitution. Their children grow up in this world, knowing there has to be something beyond it but having no real idea what that life could look like.
At the centre of the story is Kusum, who comes from a completely different background and refuses to simply accept what has been done to her. What starts with her wanting freedom for herself slowly becomes a fight for all the women on the island.
I really liked the way this is told. It’s a difficult story to read at times, but what makes it work is the people in it. Their relationships, their small acts of defiance and their stubborn hope give the book so much heart. One of those books I finished and immediately wanted more people to read.
Also a 2026 Orwell Prize finalist, and honestly, I can see why. Thank you for the copy @penguinindia ❤️
At the centre of the story is Kusum, who comes from a completely different background and refuses to simply accept what has been done to her. What starts with her wanting freedom for herself slowly becomes a fight for all the women on the island.
I really liked the way this is told. It’s a difficult story to read at times, but what makes it work is the people in it. Their relationships, their small acts of defiance and their stubborn hope give the book so much heart. One of those books I finished and immediately wanted more people to read.
Also a 2026 Orwell Prize finalist, and honestly, I can see why. Thank you for the copy @penguinindia ❤️
July 28, 2026
Primarily set on a desolate and sinking island in the Bengal Delta, Bangladesh, Uprising is a powerful and emotional story centered on hierarchy and the rights of individuals, most specifically women. With stolen and sold women used as nothing more than sex slaves, it’s a read both tragic and beautiful. As the book progresses, it becomes an anthem for joining together in protest, in hope to ensure a brighter future of freedom for one another and for the generations to come.
Having just read I Who Have Never Known Men, I found parallels in these books, with violence leading to behavioral and psychological conditioning, stigmas of age, selfless vs selfish acts and found family/community. While this book is on the shorter side, it has a lot to say. It’s definitely one I’d recommend.
Thank-you to NetGalley, Scribner and Tahmima Anam for the advanced reader copy.
Having just read I Who Have Never Known Men, I found parallels in these books, with violence leading to behavioral and psychological conditioning, stigmas of age, selfless vs selfish acts and found family/community. While this book is on the shorter side, it has a lot to say. It’s definitely one I’d recommend.
Thank-you to NetGalley, Scribner and Tahmima Anam for the advanced reader copy.
August 16, 2026
⚠️ Trigger Warning: This book contains graphic descriptions of sexual violence, physical abuse, and trauma.
An absolute emotional rollercoaster.
The writing is so fluid and effortless, I flew through these 208 pages completely hooked from page one.
On a remote, sinking island in Bangladesh, a group of women are held under the cruel control of Amma - a madam who was once sold herself. Everything shifts when Kusum, an educated activist from the city, arrives and refuses to surrender.
What follows is a fierce, desperate revolution narrated by the children watching their mothers.
It broke my heart. Even though it's fiction, it's inspired by the real floating brothel of Banishanta, and knowing these hardships happen in real life makes every page hit harder.
Painful, powerful, and unforgettable. A story of female solidarity and survival against impossible odds.
An absolute emotional rollercoaster.
The writing is so fluid and effortless, I flew through these 208 pages completely hooked from page one.
On a remote, sinking island in Bangladesh, a group of women are held under the cruel control of Amma - a madam who was once sold herself. Everything shifts when Kusum, an educated activist from the city, arrives and refuses to surrender.
What follows is a fierce, desperate revolution narrated by the children watching their mothers.
It broke my heart. Even though it's fiction, it's inspired by the real floating brothel of Banishanta, and knowing these hardships happen in real life makes every page hit harder.
Painful, powerful, and unforgettable. A story of female solidarity and survival against impossible odds.
June 13, 2026
Anam offers an impressively honest depiction of the complexities of modern sexual slavery, avoiding over-simplistic narratives and demonstrating the many awful ways women are forced and/or coerced into these situations. Each character is given her own agency, story and perspective, which prevents them from ever being reduced to a single narrative.
The climate crisis backgrounding was interesting too; while never the main focus, the rising waters around the island provide an important reminder that rampant capitalist greed is destroying both individual lives and the wider environment.
Despite the incredibly harrowing subject matter, Anam still maintains a sense of hope and humanity throughout, and the final few chapters contain some fantastically written set pieces.
The climate crisis backgrounding was interesting too; while never the main focus, the rising waters around the island provide an important reminder that rampant capitalist greed is destroying both individual lives and the wider environment.
Despite the incredibly harrowing subject matter, Anam still maintains a sense of hope and humanity throughout, and the final few chapters contain some fantastically written set pieces.
July 4, 2026
Set on a small island off the coast of Bangladesh, this short and essential novel tells the story of a community of women who have been tricked, kidnapped or sold by their poverty stricken families into a life of prostitution. They face a life of unthinkable horrors, yet somehow to maintain their dignity and protect those children that are born to them through what in effect is rape.
The arrival of a young woman, Kusum Khan, gives them some hope however. Kusum speaks of revolution and encourages the women to resist and fight back.
Though rarely easy to read, this is an essential and timely novel that brings attention to the terrifying injustices happening in a country where the authorities have done little.
The arrival of a young woman, Kusum Khan, gives them some hope however. Kusum speaks of revolution and encourages the women to resist and fight back.
Though rarely easy to read, this is an essential and timely novel that brings attention to the terrifying injustices happening in a country where the authorities have done little.
June 9, 2026
Based on real events this absolutely brilliant book is, at times, difficult to read. There's violence and sexual assault and it raises some big issues about societal inequality, the patriarchy, the climate crisis and more yet is somehow very readable. Set on a brothel island in Bangladesh some of it is narrated by the children of the island, which is both tragic and heartbreaking yet it also manages to be hopeful and uplifting. Excellent book. Highly recommended.
July 12, 2026
Book club read. Based on a real life brothel island in Bangladesh, it tells the story of the women who live there and the impact of a new arrival. It is told from the perspective of the children who live there, which was quite clever as it allowed an element of detachment
This was not an easy read. At times it felt harrowing and overwhelming; I took it slow. But wow, it was incredibly impactful and such an important story. A brilliant novel.
This was not an easy read. At times it felt harrowing and overwhelming; I took it slow. But wow, it was incredibly impactful and such an important story. A brilliant novel.
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