SPECIAL BOOK REVIEW REVIEW:

"Lost in Sweet Dreams" – A Poetic Cartography of Longing Author: Akbar Haider Kiron Publisher: Ananya First Published: October 2024

Abu Nasor Minar 

A Long Sigh, Half a Lifetime "Lost in Sweet Dreams" is not merely a poetry collection; it is a cartography of a fragmented heart, a diasporic poet's diary of self-dissection. Akbar Haider Kiron uses words to draw alpana with memory, where New York subways and Dhaka's Ramna merge into one, where the ache of lost love and the alienation of exile taste like the same cup of coffee. Why This Book is Exceptional:1. Poetry of Dual Homelands: These poems simultaneously inhabit Bangladesh and America. "Jackson Heights" is not just a location; it is the psychological capital of expatriate Bangladesh. Conversely, "the green paddy fields of Bardain" or "the rickshaws of Agargaon" persistently return through the pages of memory.

This very tension is the soul of the book.2. A Philosophy of Time and Memory: In Kiron's verse, time is not linear; it moves in cycles. Poems written between 1995 and 2014 are arranged like a collage, where the same sensations of love, separation, change, and return recur endlessly. Titles like "People Change" or "All Become Memories" declare it plainly—memory never dies; it only changes form.3. The Somatics of Love: The love in this book is not just emotion; it is a physical presence. It is the touch of a first kiss on the "Seven Train," the hand writing of love washed away on "Atlantic City Beach," or the whisper of a "phone call." Here, love is a displaced sensation that never leaves the body.4. Linguistic Duality and Cultural Fusion:

The spontaneous intrusion of Bangla words within English verse ("lungi," "bidi," "Meghna Ferry") transforms the book into a cultural hybrid. This is not mere translation; it is the translation of a mind—where the humidity of Dhaka touches the cold of New York. Heart-wrenching Fragments:"Without you, I'm incomplete, Like a tree stripped of its leaves, it's bleak." (Without You)"Concealed within, there dwells a human soul, Nested within another, a unique role." (People Change) A Bridge Between Two Worlds:The book's greatest strength is how intimately it captures the diasporic psyche. In the poem "America!", the sound of an alarm clock coexists with "dreams of return to the native homeland." This duality is the identity of the global Bengali today.

A Triumph of Craft:The poet successfully:Universalizes a tragic romanceGives poetic language to the loneliness of exileBlurs the borders between Bangla and EnglishPaints a portrait of humanity at war with time Rating: 4.5/5Why 4.5?  While some thematic repetitions exist within the poems, this may be intentional—for love and memory are themselves repetitive. The design and presentation could be more polished, but the poet's raw sincerity fills any such gaps. Who This Book is For:Those who wish to delve into the depths of love and lossAnyone seeking to understand the heart of the Bangladeshi diasporaReaders looking for new horizons in modern Bengali poetryAnyone whose life is also balanced with "legs on two boats"  Final Reflection: "Lost in Sweet Dreams" is a poem of an incurable pain—a pain that is also a source of solace. Akbar Haider Kiron proves that memory is a country, and we are all its exiled citizens.Upon finishing this book, the reader will be left asking: "Where is my Jackson Heights? In which poem does my lost love reside? "This is not just a book—it is a mirror, where we all see our own fragmented reflections.