3 stars
The Blurb
“At the tender age of eighteen, Nazneen’s life is turned upside down. After an arranged marriage to a man twenty years her elder, she exchanges her Bangladeshi village for a block of flats in London’s East End, in this new world, where poor people can be fat and even dogs can go on diets, she struggles to make sense of her existence – and to do her duty to her husband. A man of inflated ideas (and stomach), he sorely tests her compliance.
But Nazneen submits, as she must, to Fate, and devotes her life to raising her family and slapping down her demons of discontent. Until she becomes aware of a young radical, Karim.
Against a background of escalating racial and gang conflict, they embark on an affair that finally forces Nazneen to take control of her life.”
Overall review and recommendation
I recommend Brick Lane to those interested in learning more about the Bangladeshi community in the UK. It’s also something to consider when looking for books related to immigration and women’s affairs worldwide.
Ultimately, it’s a book about love, family, and prejudice. It compares the lives of those who move abroad and those left behind, presenting the differences in their choices.
Still, it could be better. I found the protagonist hard to relate to, and the story lingers quite a bit. I probably expected more of it due to so many good recommendations.
But it felt like the author didn’t want to go deep into some more controversial subjects. You end up with a story that it’s warm and entertaining but easy to forget.
Still, Brick Lane has earned a 3.4-star rating on Goodreads and 4.1 stars on Amazon UK. As usual, my opinion is my own, and it should never be your sole source of information.
About the author
Monica Ali (website) was born in Bangladesh. When she was three years old, she moved to Bolton, England, with her English mother and Bangladeshi father. Her background is in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.
She has published five novels. Brick Lane, her debut, was published in 2003, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and adapted to a film directed By Sarah Gavron. Her work has been translated into 26 languages, and she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
What I loved
- Hasina’s story – The journey of Nazneen’s sister held my attention: her quest for true love and independent life despite all odds is exciting and engaging. I rooted for her and looked forward to her chapters.
- Chanu’s odd personality – Nazneen’s husband is an excellent example of someone who hopes for more than they have achieved in life. While many of his ideas are sensible, considering his lifestyle and background, they seem out of place. He talks a lot but implements very little. Like many immigrants who choose to move to countries better developed than their own, he goes through phases of optimism and disappointment. This character is responsible for many of the most entertaining and enlightening pages.
- The chapters showing the impact of the 9/11 attacks on Brick Lane’s Bangladeshi community bring a fresh perspective to such a tragic event.
What I disliked
- The book is slow-paced and misses a clear direction. I had no idea where the story was going. It reads more like a memoir than a novel.
- The use of poor grammar in Hasina’s letters felt unnecessary. I imagine the goal was to show her poor educational level, but it felt overdone.
What I learned
Some generic insights about Bangladesh’s culture and the Bangladeshi community in the UK. While I believe it could have gone deeper, I knew nothing. Whatever I learned was a good start.
What I missed
I couldn’t connect with the protagonist (Nazneen), which weakened the whole reading experience. I needed a more in-depth understanding of her mindset. Some of her choices feel contradictory. She is both extremely passive and capable of bold decisions.
Overall, she seemed to be more like a narrator, watching things happen around her than a proper protagonist. I had accepted that this was what was meant to be, that the idea was to show how little input she had on her own life. But then she started making choices inconsistent with this type of personality, and I couldn’t understand how she changed in that manner.
What to be aware of
Monica Ali is believed not to have spent much time in the Bangladeshi community of Brick Lane, neither being able to speak the Bengali language fluently. For these and other reasons, this book has been criticised by some members of the Brick Lane community, who have stated that her portrait of the residents isn’t authentic.
Favourite quotes
“She cried because crying was called for, but she accepted it, whatever it was.”
“She says it is better get beaten by own husband than beating by a stranger.”
“If God wanted us to asl questions, he would have made us men.”
“This is the tragedy of our lives. To be an immigrant is to live out a tragedy”
“He puts his nose inside a book because the smell of real life offends him.”
