Australian ethnographer Kathryn Hummel’s overall goal in “Udbhēda: Details of Bangladesh Life & Adda” (Vernon Press) is to negotiate the rocky path between post-colonial theory and her own fieldwork practice. She explains her title accordingly: ‘udbhēda’ translates roughly as confluence or breakthrough, while ‘adda’ means conversation or even gossip. She strives for meaningful exchanges with three diverse figures: Sampurna, who supports her family by her massage work; Afreen, a hijira known for their activism on behalf of sex workers; and Nusrat, an academic who teaches English literature.

Constantly aware of her difference from her three subjects, Hummel illuminates the challenges facing Bangladeshis who aspire to assert themselves within conservative social mores.

Hummel’s book is a work of ‘bricolage’ in the best spirit of anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss. She is a participant observer within Bangladeshi life, one acutely aware of the pitfalls of self-reflexivity as she converses with Sampurna, Afreen and Nusrat. As someone who knew very little about Bangladeshi life stories, I am grateful to Hummel’s honesty and intellect. In “Udbhēda,” she encapsulates history, post-colonial theory and powerful human experience in one satisfying text.

Dr. Lynne Van Luven

Professor emerita,

Department of Writing,

University of Victoria