Rediscovering Hemingway in Bangladesh and India, 1971-2006

Of all the American authors that have been favorably received in Bangladesh and India, Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) tops the list. This book examines the teaching and reception of Ernest Hemingway's works by scholars in academia in Bangladesh and India from 1971 to 2006, along with Hemingway's reception in Bangladeshi books, periodicals, and newspapers from that period. This book aims to contribute to the limited and selected body of criticism of Hemingway in Bangladesh. It demonstrates the vitality of Hemingway's works for Bangladeshi readers today, in part by challenging the insularity of British literary critics who were contemporaries of Hemingway, by questioning literary criticism across cultures with a colonial legacy, and by raising questions about the relevance of teaching American literature during periods of institutional transition in view of the debate over American studies programs in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. In attempting to overcome some of the cross-cultural barriers inherent in a study of Hemingway's influence upon readers in the Indian sub-continent, this book reflects the author's intellectual journey to discover the cultural and institutional factors that filter the experience of reading Hemingway in Bangladesh and India today, and to respond to critics who ask if Hemingway's writing is still relevant after the turn of events of September 11, 2001.