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y separately published work icon Spiral Road single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 Spiral Road
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Masud Alam has lived in Australia for the past 30 of his 53 years. Now his father, Abba, is dying, drifting in a haze of Alzheimer's, and Masud has returned to Bangladesh to say goodbye and to reconnect with his family.

'Unmarried, he instantly becomes the focus of his mother's match-making, which involves a local woman, Alya, who runs a factory providing jobs for rural women in a nearby village. He also begins to realise how far his family's fortunes have fallen, and how hard his brother Zia has had to work to keep them all afloat.

'As Masud reacquaints himself with his family and with Bangladesh, he realises how little he really knows them. Haunted by his own experiences as a soldier in Bangladesh's war of independence, he is surprised by the shifting, complex attitudes of his old friends and neighbours. He also discovers some family secrets, when a chance remark by his father prompts him to examine some old family papers.

'But most disturbing of all are the secrets of his young nephew, Omar, recently returned from America with a quiet steeliness in his gaze ...' (Publisher's blurb)

Notes

  • Dedication: For Shahrukh.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Pymble, Turramurra - Pymble - St Ives area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Fourth Estate , 2007 .
      image of person or book cover 6688265226673291004.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 362p.
      ISBN: 0732284171, 9780732284176
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Works about this Work

Re-storying the Past, Re-imagining the Future in Adib Khan’s Homecoming and Spiral Road Stefano Mercanti , 2016 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Postcolonial Writing , December vol. 52 no. 5 2016; (p. 622-633) Mediating Literary Borders : Asian Australian Writing 2018; (p. 96-108) 'This article argues that Adib Khan’s fiction challenges the orthodoxies of rigid cultural boundaries and dominator systems by creatively reconfiguring histories, landscapes and identities into forms of transcultural dialogue. Both Homecoming (2003) and Spiral Road (2007) tell the story of the disquieted lives of their protagonists, Martin and Masud, who struggle to inhabit an empathetic consciousness in a world ranked and measured by labels, points of origin, skin colour and religion. Their sense of displacement and yearning to belong – a feature in all Khan’s novels – enable them to move beyond the anxieties of finding a fitting place within the culture around them and embrace new ways of overcoming disconnection, violence and other forms of cultural stereotyping common to all cultures, thus rethinking their past and recreating a more equitable future.' (Publication abstract)
Re-Visiting the Homeland: Philosophical and Aesthetic Dimensions in Adib Khan's Spiral Road Chandani Lokuge , 2008 single work criticism
— Appears in: Asiatic , June vol. 2 no. 1 2008; This paper focuses on the fiction of the multi-award winning Bangladeshi-Australian novelist Adib Khan. From the plurality of cultures in which Khan's fiction is embedded, the paper draws out its subcontinental philosophical and aesthetic dimensions. The paper hypothesises that in Khan's fiction, the diasporic's return to the 'imaginary homeland' is triggered by the desire for self-knowledge and self-fulfilment. It extends to an analysis of the aesthetics of this return journey. The paper will be framed by the classical Indian theories of Rasa (Aesthetics).
Of Spies and Terrorists: Australian Fiction After 9/11 Bruce Bennett , 2008 single work criticism
— Appears in: Asiatic , June vol. 2 no. 1 2008; This article notes the powerful international impact of the attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001 and their literary aftermath. Beginning with The 9/11 Commission Report, the article considers literary responses to the events of 9/11 five or six years later by five Australian novelists. Their work ranges from fantastic satire to espionage thriller and psychological problem novel. A critical spirit informs each of these works - Andrew McGahan's Underground (2006), Richard Flanagan's The Unknown Terrorist (2006), Janette Turner Hospital's Orpheus Lost (2007), Adib Khan's Spiral Road (2007) and Adrian d'Hage's The Beijing Conspiracy (2007). Adib Khan's novel Spiral Road is especially interesting for its examination of the dilemmas and difficulties faced by a Muslim Australian when he returns to his homeland Bangladesh. Like the other novels considered in this article, Spiral Road explores the clashes between political events and the realities of everyday living for individuals buffeted by the cross-winds of an American tragedy.
Books Fiction Elli Housden , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier Mail , 19 - 20 May 2007; (p. 22)
— Review of Spiral Road Adib Khan , 2007 single work novel
Strength on Parallel Roads Carol Middleton , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 28 April 2007; (p. 11)
— Review of Spiral Road Adib Khan , 2007 single work novel
Turbulent Destinations Peter Pierce , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 24 March 2007; (p. 13)
— Review of Spiral Road Adib Khan , 2007 single work novel
Maud's Murk Geordie Williamson , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 290 2007; (p. 35)
— Review of Spiral Road Adib Khan , 2007 single work novel
Family Ties Bind Tight Gay Bilson , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 7 April 2007; (p. 10)
— Review of Spiral Road Adib Khan , 2007 single work novel
Growing Pains Sue Green , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 7-8 April 2007; (p. 14)
— Review of Spiral Road Adib Khan , 2007 single work novel
Between Fame and Family Emma Cox , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 14-15 April 2007; (p. 35)
— Review of Spiral Road Adib Khan , 2007 single work novel
Of Spies and Terrorists: Australian Fiction After 9/11 Bruce Bennett , 2008 single work criticism
— Appears in: Asiatic , June vol. 2 no. 1 2008; This article notes the powerful international impact of the attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001 and their literary aftermath. Beginning with The 9/11 Commission Report, the article considers literary responses to the events of 9/11 five or six years later by five Australian novelists. Their work ranges from fantastic satire to espionage thriller and psychological problem novel. A critical spirit informs each of these works - Andrew McGahan's Underground (2006), Richard Flanagan's The Unknown Terrorist (2006), Janette Turner Hospital's Orpheus Lost (2007), Adib Khan's Spiral Road (2007) and Adrian d'Hage's The Beijing Conspiracy (2007). Adib Khan's novel Spiral Road is especially interesting for its examination of the dilemmas and difficulties faced by a Muslim Australian when he returns to his homeland Bangladesh. Like the other novels considered in this article, Spiral Road explores the clashes between political events and the realities of everyday living for individuals buffeted by the cross-winds of an American tragedy.
Re-Visiting the Homeland: Philosophical and Aesthetic Dimensions in Adib Khan's Spiral Road Chandani Lokuge , 2008 single work criticism
— Appears in: Asiatic , June vol. 2 no. 1 2008; This paper focuses on the fiction of the multi-award winning Bangladeshi-Australian novelist Adib Khan. From the plurality of cultures in which Khan's fiction is embedded, the paper draws out its subcontinental philosophical and aesthetic dimensions. The paper hypothesises that in Khan's fiction, the diasporic's return to the 'imaginary homeland' is triggered by the desire for self-knowledge and self-fulfilment. It extends to an analysis of the aesthetics of this return journey. The paper will be framed by the classical Indian theories of Rasa (Aesthetics).
Re-storying the Past, Re-imagining the Future in Adib Khan’s Homecoming and Spiral Road Stefano Mercanti , 2016 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Postcolonial Writing , December vol. 52 no. 5 2016; (p. 622-633) Mediating Literary Borders : Asian Australian Writing 2018; (p. 96-108) 'This article argues that Adib Khan’s fiction challenges the orthodoxies of rigid cultural boundaries and dominator systems by creatively reconfiguring histories, landscapes and identities into forms of transcultural dialogue. Both Homecoming (2003) and Spiral Road (2007) tell the story of the disquieted lives of their protagonists, Martin and Masud, who struggle to inhabit an empathetic consciousness in a world ranked and measured by labels, points of origin, skin colour and religion. Their sense of displacement and yearning to belong – a feature in all Khan’s novels – enable them to move beyond the anxieties of finding a fitting place within the culture around them and embrace new ways of overcoming disconnection, violence and other forms of cultural stereotyping common to all cultures, thus rethinking their past and recreating a more equitable future.' (Publication abstract)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (11)
Last amended 28 Mar 2017 10:28:16
Subjects:
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    Bangladesh,
    c
    South Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
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