Map Monday #27

Hello and welcome to ‘Map Monday’. This was inspired by the current pandemic and lockdowns and the inability to travel. I will share one book each week with you that is set somewhere different to where I live. I’ll chat a bit about the book and throw some interesting facts out there about the place. I hope you enjoy travelling through books with me…

This week I’ve picked ‘Dhanmondi Road’ by R.H. Young, which is set in Bangladesh.

Book Synopsis:

The year is 1973. The Bangladesh war of independence is over but the country remains in chaos. Gareth McKinley, a young Australian, arrives in the country to work on a project set up to care for destitute children. He quickly learns that living and working in a post-war environment can be dangerous. A crisis emerges when some children involved in the project cannot be accounted for. Does the explanation lie in a mysterious letter that seems to have been sent from Dubai? Dhanmondi Road sensitively captures the atmosphere of a country in turmoil and charts Gareth’s progress towards increasing self-knowledge and -awareness in ways he could not have dreamed of before setting out on this journey.

Facts about Bangladesh:

• The word Bangladesh means “the people of Bengal” in the local Bangla language. The country’s official name is the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
• The country has the 8th largest population in the world.
• Their capital, Dhaka, is the most densely populated city in the world?
• The national animal of Bangladesh is the Royal bengal tiger. It has a roar that can be heard up to 3 km away.
• Due to its low-lying elevation, the ground in Bangladesh has never frozen. The coldest temperature on record is a low of 4.5°C in Jessore during the winter of 2011.
• 30% of the Bangladesh population still live below the poverty line.
• Predominantly an Islamic country, with 89% of the population practicing this faith.
• The country is home to three world heritage sites.
• It has the second fastest river in the world, right after Amazon. Its name is “Padma.”
• Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest apparel exporter of the Western brands. The textile and garment sector has produced around 60% cloth for the European buyers and around 40% for the American.