This book deals with genocide and not persecution. Genocide of a minority and eliminating thier existence completely.Just as the Nazis went about systematically eliminating jews , so have the govts and religious bigots gone about systematically eliminating hindus in both Pakistan and Bangladesh. These countries which had quite a significant hindu population at the beginning of the 19th century have next to none now because of well planned genocide , rape and systematic conversion. Taslima Nasrin is a Humanist. It doesnt matter if she will not be a literate giant. She will always be remembered in the hearts of those who have suffered at the hands of islamic fundamentalism.

In answer to the reader who wondered why Hindus didn't just convert to Islam or relocate to India suggests he or she failed to understand the message of the book. The tearing apart of the ideals and optimism of a family very much in love with Bangladesh make this book essential reading for all readers remotely interested in the struggles of minority groups anywhere in the world.

While this book may not be great literature, it is a chilling indictment of Moslem persecution of the Hindu minority in Bangladesh following the destruction of the Babri Masjid in India.

Taslima Nasrin has provided many factual accounts of desecration and destruction of Hindu temples and atrocities against the Hindu minority in her book. One reviewer likened the experience of Hindus in Bangladesh to Muslims in India. There is no comparison. That reviewer intimates the destruction of the Babri Masjid (itself built to desecrate a Hindu temple) outweighs the destruction of thousands of Hindu temples in South Asia following that event!! I have traveled in both India and Bangladesh, and Muslims in India have much greater freedom and security than Hindus in Bangladesh.

Ignore the fact that the writer is a Muslim hater and clearly knows nothing about the religion. Many writers are. More importantly, the book is full of childish drivel of a primary school standard. There is great Bengali poetry out there by both Muslim and Hindu writers. This is not one of them. It is simply too poor to be worthy of anyones time or money. I suspect that she appeals to a feminist, Muslim hater crowd. Look out for the quality: Tagore and Nazrul Islam!

If you don't have tough skin, if the truth hurts you, don't pick up this book or you'll feel the same way that "a reader from UK" felt. I personally enjoyed her poems and am glad that a Bangladeshi woman finally came out with something like this because it is long overdue. People who expect the timid, self-sacrificial, submissive attitude from women will not be happy with these poems. Nasrin spoke about many issues that Bangladeshi women face but are afraid to or have been prohibited to talk about. Some people don't like reading things that don't conform with the backwards traditions that they grew up with, and if you are one of them, this book isn't for you.

I have never been much into poetry, but this book really changed my mind. Nasrin's style is very easy to read. She is straight-forward, but tells exactly what she thinks. She talks about social injustice in an ironic and satirical manner. She is one of the most interesting poets around!

I usually enjoy reading books by women writers from the Indian subcontinent. This was one book that could not hold my attention - badly written, repetitive, and unnecessarily lengthy: a tedious read. Ms. Nasrin sounds like a manipulative child - she knows what the West wants to hear and makes too much of an effort to please.

My husband is Bangladeshi, so I was interested in reading this book. The book is interesting in providing an insight into a dysfunctional, abusive home and childhood. It makes clear the critical need for third world countries to seriously address the issue of abuse and oppression of women. However, the book gets repetitive and tiresome after a while.

The reason I am giving the book only two stars is because it treats all of Bangladesh and all of Islam as one-dimensional. We are left assuming everyone is like that. Both of my husband's sisters have graduate degrees and his mother was head of the household, even though his father had spent a decade studying religion in an Islamic school. There wasn't any abuse and no prohibition against his sister's playing outdoors. They didn't wear head coverings either.

The subtitle A Memoir of Growing Up Female in a Muslim world is misleading. Her story unfortunately is common for females all over the third world including India, China, South America, Africa, and to a lesser extent the US and Europe. Domination and abuse of women knows no borders and is practiced by members of all faiths. Nasrin is not objective and makes a lot of generalizations about Islam being the problem. I am Christian but I also grew up with a domineering father. Nasrin, unfortunately, has alienated her countrymen instead of engaging them.

A very interesting book, not always fun to read and maybe like the first reviewer says not always really well, or at least tightly, written. However, the account of this girlhood was shocking to me. I think now I understand feminism much better then before. And even though I've spent some time in Bangladesh, I now feel like I understand life in Bangladesh much better than before as well. I feel it was extremely worthwhile reading this book. It taught me a lot about how most of the world lives.