A historical novel, The Glorious Afternoon is the translation of Selina Hossain’s seminal book Saat-e Marcher Bikel, which is based on the historic speech delivered by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Father of the Nation, in the Racecourse ground on the seventh of March in 1971. Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, the translator of the novel, has attempted to retain the same flow and readability in the translation as in the original. Hossain has beautifully woven history with imagination in this significant work of fiction.
The novel captures the tumultuous days leading to the Liberation War of Bangladesh, starting from the seventh of March and ending up with the emergence of a sovereign country. Taking the speech of the seventh of March at the backdrop, the novelist features war, sacrifices of freedom fighters, struggles of women, and cruelties of Pakistani Army and their collaborators. In this context, the influential work can also be ascribed as a war novel. The author portrays Bangabandhu as the greatest figure who materialized the dream of millions of people for the independence of Bangladesh.
The Glorious Afternoon is also about love between two youths, studying at the University of Dhaka, who participate in the war and survive as freedom fighters.