The title story of Ahmad Mostofa Kamal’s latest collection, “The Way Grown-Up Stories Go,” is essentially an account of our immediate present—a documentary chronicle of the turbulent decade Bangladesh has endured. There is no pretense of concealment here. Rarely have I read a story that points an unflinching finger so directly at just how terrifying and fraught an era we are traversing. The story is richly metaphorical. In these suffocating times, penning such a story and bringing it between the covers of a book is undoubtedly an act of immense courage. And courage must be underscored here, for as I learned from a post by the author himself, not a single newspaper editor of our time possessed the courage to print it!
Another politically resonant, powerful story in the collection is “Son of Nectar.” How many hundreds of words of defiance do we wish to utter every single day, yet cannot? Why can’t we? Where does our spirit catch in its tracks? Why do our roiling grievances lump into a knot in our throats? Much like a boatman hauling a towline against the current, the author forcefully tugs our unspoken words out into the open in this story.
“Those Who Disappear” is wrapped in a hauntingly tender melancholy. It is the story of those who harbor no appetite for life’s rat race or ruthless competition, who merely longed to live quietly in the margins, away from society’s glare—yet are relentlessly coerced into that very race by the cruel weight of social reality. Do these people truly disappear in the end? How do they reconcile themselves to such an unexpectedly regimented life? The answer the author offers here is explored through yet another equation in the story “Song of Parting.”
Everyday people simply wish to live a quiet, unmolested life—an aspiration that is practically impossible in the context of our country. But why is it impossible? The answer reveals itself in “When Evening Falls.” Centered around an abandoned infant found on the street, this is an exquisite depiction of how an ordinary person’s existence is relentlessly cross-examined by society and the state. Despite endless hurdles, he yearns to taste a sliver of joy with the child in his childless home. But will fate allow it? Does this aggressively hyper-competitive society ever grant an easy reprieve to a simple life devoid of canned ‘motivational’ platitudes?
Another striking story in this collection is “Grudge.” Its presentation is exhilarating and incisive. For those who casually speak of fundamentally overhauling society or staging a revolution, the author deftly and slyly exposes how the radius of their revolution often lasts all of thirty minutes.
I would like to conclude this review with the story “The Game.” In my estimation, it is quite possibly the finest piece in the book. Until reading it, I felt the title story held that distinction, but “The Game” completely altered my perception. It is a brilliant allegorical tale. Against whom do authoritarian rulers at the peak of power harbor their truest rage or terror? Their visceral dread of creative minds—the lingering paranoia that with a single stroke of a pen, they might expose everything—is laid bare with remarkable psychological acuity. As to where that leads, the reader must savor the story to discover.
Comprising ten new stories, Ahmad Mostofa Kamal’s “The Way Grown-Up Stories Go” offers the reader a thoroughly engrossing two-hour journey. It feels like watching the world through the window of a long-distance coach—where, from behind the glass, one catches glimpses of disparate events, kaleidoscopic canvases of life, and the delicate chiaroscuro of human fortune. To every discerning reader, I extend a warm invitation to embark on this splendid literary voyage.
