India, June 12 -- What forms can rebellion take on a fast-sinking desolate island?

Inspired by Banishanta, a real-life "floating" brothel settlement in Bangladesh, Tahmima Anam's new novel, Uprising (Penguin Random House), is set on a fictional strip of land rapidly being reclaimed by the sea. It is mainly women and children trapped there, in routines marked by despair. Then, a teenager arrives from the mainland.

Kusum Khan once marched against the Dictator. Now, she forces the island's inhabitants to face a bitter truth: No one is coming to save them. She incites revolt against the settlement's brutal order, challenging the tyranny of the ruthless Amma who heads it.

"This book turned out to be more harrowing to write than anything I h...