About the Book
ONE OF THE FINEST THRILLERS TO COME OUT OF BANGLADESH
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.
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.
About the Author
Leesa Gazi is a British-Bangladeshi writer, actor, scriptwriter and filmmaker. Gazi was the concept-developer, co-writer and performer on Birangona: Women of War, nominated for The Offies 2014, which she later developed into the documentary film called Rising Silence, on the lives of rape survivors in the aftermath of the Liberation War of Bangladesh. The film won the Best Documentary Award 2019 at the Dhaka International Film Festival, the 2019 Moondance Winner in the feature documentary category (USA), the Asian Media Award for Best Investigation 2019 (UK), the Award Of Merit 2020 by the Accolade Competition (USA), the Best Documentary Feature and Best Message at the 2020 Top Indie Film Awards (Japan) and the Best Feature—Foreign 2020 at the Queen Palm International Film Festival (USA). Gazi has recently translated Ben Musgrave’s new play, Indigo Giant, set against the backdrop of the Indigo Rebellion in Bengal during the British Raj, into Bengali (Neel Chhaya) for an international theatrical tour in 2021. Her debut novel, Rourob, was published in 2010.
Leesa Gazi is a British-Bangladeshi writer, actor, scriptwriter and filmmaker. Gazi was the concept-developer, co-writer and performer on Birangona: Women of War, nominated for The Offies 2014, which she later developed into the documentary film called Rising Silence, on the lives of rape survivors in the aftermath of the Liberation War of Bangladesh. The film won the Best Documentary Award 2019 at the Dhaka International Film Festival, the 2019 Moondance Winner in the feature documentary category (USA), the Asian Media Award for Best Investigation 2019 (UK), the Award Of Merit 2020 by the Accolade Competition (USA), the Best Documentary Feature and Best Message at the 2020 Top Indie Film Awards (Japan) and the Best Feature—Foreign 2020 at the Queen Palm International Film Festival (USA). Gazi has recently translated Ben Musgrave’s new play, Indigo Giant, set against the backdrop of the Indigo Rebellion in Bengal during the British Raj, into Bengali (Neel Chhaya) for an international theatrical tour in 2021. Her debut novel, Rourob, was published in 2010.
