Quotes from book
The Black Coat

The Black Coat
Neamat Imam

The Black Coat is a historical novel by Bangladeshi-Canadian author Neamat Imam. It is "a meditation on power, greed and the human cost of politics." The Sunday Guardian commented that it is "destined to be a future classic" and will be used as the "gold standard for any book which seeks to engage with South Asian politics or history."Published in 2013 by Penguin Books India in Hamish Hamilton imprint, it presents a dark and dystopian portrait of Bangladesh under Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Sheikh Mujib is commonly regarded as the Father of the Bengali Nation, the greatest hero Bangladesh has ever had, but in this novel Imam depicts him as a totalitarian ruler who distorted truth and suppressed political opposition to strengthen his tyranny.

Neamat Imam photo

“You can’t predict anything about a ruler.”

Neamat Imam book The Black Coat

The Black Coat (2013)

Neamat Imam photo

“It is not mandatory, I thought, that a society must have people who are vile and who rear filthiness instead of grit and ambition.”

Neamat Imam book The Black Coat

The Black Coat (2013)

Neamat Imam photo

“No government will ever surrender to the wishes of its people. No society will ever be free from the control of its government.”

Neamat Imam book The Black Coat

The Black Coat (2013)

Neamat Imam photo

“There is no question that could not be asked in this land.”

Neamat Imam book The Black Coat

The Black Coat (2013)

Neamat Imam photo

“Shoes could be sold and resold, unlike a Constitution.”

Neamat Imam book The Black Coat

The Black Coat (2013)

Neamat Imam photo

“Do not burden yourself with problems that you do not understand,’ he said. ‘If you do, then only the problems win. Human life becomes a tragedy.”

Neamat Imam book The Black Coat

The Black Coat (2013)

Neamat Imam photo

“Every man has a vision,’ Nur Hussain said. ‘Whether he understands it or not.”

Neamat Imam book The Black Coat

The Black Coat (2013)

Neamat Imam photo

“Suffering is not an otherworldly affair; it will never be that a person won’t be able to unearth the mystery of his suffering in his lifetime.”

Neamat Imam book The Black Coat

The Black Coat (2013)

Neamat Imam photo

“I wanted to save my face because only that was what I had.”

Neamat Imam book The Black Coat

The Black Coat (2013)