‘Fragments of Riversong’ showcases over two dozen masterfully-crafted tales that bring alive the beauty, chaos and contradictions of contemporary Bangladesh.

The past shows up on her doorstep, offering a woman the chance to secretly repay a favour she has almost forgotten about. The arrival of a long-awaited baby turns out to be a very different experience from what his grateful parents expected. A Bangladeshi student in London struggles to deal with an unwanted guest hell-bent on cultural tourism. A childhood friendship demands painful compromises between adults.

A brother discovers truths about his twin sister's life that make him question everything he has taken for granted. A visa applicant at the US Embassy struggles with an unruly conscience and the shadows of a hidden past. A guava tree becomes a source of conflict between an unorthodox grandmother and her stubborn grandchild. A teenage boy in Britain finds out that some family secrets are better left buried. A young man returns to his village in order to come to terms with bereavement. In societies that value conformity, challenges to the status quo can take the most unusual forms — including darkly humorous micro rebellions.

The continuous evolution of science gifts a tech-savvy generation with opportunities to use (and misuse) cutting-edge technology with surprising creativity. The search for love remains oddly familiar in a dystopian future. A light-hearted holiday adventure throws up an unexpected challenge. A successful architect suddenly finds herself the reluctant guardian of two children she barely knows.

Like fragments from an emerging mosaic, these narratives fit together to illustrate the transformation of a once-rural, riverine land into its more recent incarnation, telling the stories of a nation through the voices of its people.

In storytelling that demonstrates a wide diversity of themes and variations in style, the reader is given a glimpse into scenes from lives less often examined, dispelling stereotypes and offering unexpected insights into a country that many still know relatively little about.