Brick Lane

Rating:
Summary: Who's this Tagore guy?
Review: Am I the only reader to have noticed the allusion to the great Tagore's The Home and The World, set in West Bengal, and written about a century earlier? His heroine, also, falls in love with a charismatic religious leader ... the contrast in the style of handling the material, and in the influences of culture, time, and place, are a fascinating study. And, notice that Ms. Ali refers to Tagore directly several times in her book. Some readers may wish to read the Home and the World, as a companion to Brick Lane.

Rating:
Summary: Essentially boring
Review: I was eager to begin this book as I love to read books set in and about people from that part of the world. But this one was a huge disappoitment.

Others reviewers have echoed my own feelings about this book so I won't go into the details here; and others have said how much they loved it so this seems to be one of those books readers either love or hate. Certainly, it seems to have struck a nerve with many readers, who seem to have been deeply moved by it. I was simply - bored.

Feelings aside: I do believe it is seriously, objectively flawed on account of the letters written by Nazneem's sister.

While they provide a bit of variety they were an agony to read. And the question remains as to why they were in broken English; where did Hasina learn English, and why should she write in English to Nazneem, who did not speak a word of it? But if they were written in Bangladeshi, why "pijin" Bangla, when that was their native tongue?

The mistakes Hasina would have made - assuming Ali wanted to recreate the lack of formal education - would have been in spelling and grammar. Thus the correct correlation would be misspelt, ungrammatical written English - not the foreigner's English that we were given.

Whether one loves or hates the novel, this aspect of it - which after all forms a major part of the novel - is a huge defect and I wonder why the editor let it pass. Especially as it makes such unnecessarily difficult reading.

That said, I will certainly read Ali's next novel and give her a second chance.

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Summary: "If you mix with all these people¿you give up your culture."
Review: Nazneen, a young bride married at sixteen to a 40-year-old man, is wrenched from the only life she has ever known in the countryside of Bangladesh and conveyed to England, where her new husband, Chanu, has a job. Taught from the day of her birth that "fighting against one's Fate can weaken the blood," or even be fatal, she accepts the miserably lonely existence that fate has bestowed on her in a London council flat. Nazneen's only contact with home is the letters she exchanges with her sister Hasina, whose own fate back home in Dhaka changes throughout the fifteen years that this novel takes place. Through these letters, author Ali shows the similarities and contrasts in the lives of Nazneen and Hasina, both subservient to their husbands, and, like other Bengali wives, powerless to control their fates in the culture in which they live.

With warmth and sensitivity, author Ali draws us into Nazneen's world, showing it in all its earthy details. The reader sees her increasingly cluttered apartment, hears the constant excuses and boasts from Chanu, gets lost with her on a walk in the city, and feels Nazneen's confusion and frustration with the isolation of her life, as she continues to act the dutiful wife, cutting Chanu's corns and trimming his nose hair while planning mini-rebellions. Her sister, eventually alone in Dhaka, struggles to support herself, doing whatever she has to do to stay alive in a culture in which her life has no value. But, as their mother once said, "If God wanted us to ask questions, he would have made us men."

Speaking directly to the reader in unpretentious but vividly descriptive prose, Ali recreates the minutiae of Nazneen's life, showing how the seemingly unimportant decisions she begins to make acquire new meanings in her life. Through striking details, the reader watches her gradual acceptance of a new culture (which some would call "growth"), while her husband Chanu remains anchored in the traditions of the past. Her slow evolution is neither simple nor without conflict, and no member of the family escapes her transformation. Brick Lane reveals the emotional conflicts and the subtle changes that occur when an immigrant sees the possibilities inherent in a new culture, radically different from the culture of the past, and begins to embrace it.. Step by inevitable step, Ali shows just how this process evolves, creating a vibrant portrait of a family in transition and of a woman coming into her own. Mary Whipple

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Summary: Dhaka on the Thames
Review: I thought that "Brick Lane" was a very good first novel, but not quite worthy of the hype it's been given in the UK. That's hardly surprising, as most things are hyped up these days, and perhaps it's unfair on this novelist - expectations are raised, and it would have been remarkable if the novel had been as good as its press.

Nonetheless, it's still a good, though slightly uneven read. The territory is familiar to anyone who has read authors such as Rushdie and Kureishi - how do British Asians fit into modern Britain? How does Britain treat them? Are they really British or really Indian/Pakistani/or as in "Brick Lane" Bangladeshi? Or are they really caught in a social and cultural limbo between East and West (part of both, but really belonging to neither)?

Monica Ali treats this difficult subject with as much skill as other authors I've read, and because the characters in her novel are British Bangladeshis, has the added "problem" that they are Muslims. This enables Monica Ali to look at how modern life affects Moslems - not only in the West (the heroine of the novel, Nazneen, has come to Britain due to an arranged marriage with Chanu, and encounters the young Moslem radical, Karim), but also in Bangladesh - the latter obliquely, through letters sent by her sister Hasina and her memories of her childhood.

What Monica Ali seemed to be saying is that the idea of a Moslem life often bears little reality to its actuality - faith is often honoured only in the breach. The usurious Mrs Islam (never mind the lack of subtlety, I got the message!) being the embodiment of this contradiction.

"Brick Lane" is full of such contradictions between image and reality, indeed it depends on them: Chanu's idealisation of Bangladesh is not shared by Nazneen, as she was brought up there. Chanu's disillusionment with life in Britain is due to the Walter Mitty-like hopes he had. Karim's Moslem radicalism contrasts with his amoral behaviour, and his misinterpretation of Islamic teaching.

All these themes lend a remarkable strength to "Brick Lane". What I thought let it down slightly was that in the middle section, Chanu becomes slightly less prominent. The tensions between Chanu and Nazneen had been (up to that point) the main driving force in the narrative. Karim's arrival did not really compensate for that, partly because Karim felt more of a characature than Chanu - a less well-rounded figure. Karim's radical group "The Bengal Tigers" also felt less than convincing, again they felt like a group of stereotypes. Both these factors meant that I felt the novel lost pace and conviction in places. But that's because the rest of it was so good.

In summary, a fine first novel, well worth the read.

G Rodgers

Rating:
Summary: Solid, but boring...
Review: I had the biggest problem with the way the novel jumped around. I agree with the reviewer who wondered about white people in England- as much as I love reading about other cultures and the nitty-gritty of the way immigrants live, I began to feel kind of claustrophobic after about 50 pages. The characters aren't always convincing. Ali's style is likely so highly regarded because it is solid. It lacks the flair of Zadie Smith and Jhumpa Lahiri, though. The novel is kind of subdued from beginning to end, which isn't exactly suited to what Ali tries to do with the plot. Overall, this book is better than 80 percent of what's being published today, but I think that's the only reason people are so quick to praise it.

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Summary: Seeking Love That is True
Review: Wars occur. Deaths bring misery to families. Time moves on and the world changes. Amidst all this, love still occurs, no matter its fashion.

In Brick Lane, author Monica Ali presents the story of two Indian sisters as they seek love. Hasina elopes in a love marriage and seems to fall into love naturally while Nanzeen moves to London as part of an arranged marriage and waits for love to grow in her union. Throughout this modern-day love story, September 11 happens and the war on terrorism begins. What could be a story focused on the state of Indians during our current political climate, in fact becomes a tale of love. What is it and how does one find it?

Ali introduces, as a backdrop to her story, an accepted definition of love by Indian elders. "There are two kinds of love. The kind that starts off big and slowly wears away, that seems you can never use it up and then one day is finished. And the kind that you don't notice at first, but which adds a little bit to itself every day, like an oyster makes a pearl, grain by grain, a jewel from the sand."

Brick Lane starts out seemingly as propaganda for the merits of arranged marriages. Nanzeen marries Chanu, a much older, unattractive man who is pompous and long-winded. However, Chanu provides for her and treats her kindly. Nanzeen first views her husband in disgust as she grooms him and his home. Eventually though, she finds comfort in the stability in her life and wonder if what she feels for him is love.

Hasina flees her home in Bangladesh to marry her love, writing to her sister that, "We have love. Love is happiness. I feel to run and jump like goat." That love soon fizzles, however, and Hasina flees that home and finds herself on the go for many years.

Communicating via letters, the sisters exchange accounts of their lives: new children, the deaths of children, new jobs and friends, etc. Both seem to share in questioning, "Have I found love? Is this what love is?" Both do not come to the same conclusion. The answers they find effect their life decisions and ultimately the happiness and freedom they find in life.
Ali brings a surprising story in Brick Lane by not writing a clichéd story of either love or the life of an Indian woman. Instead she confronts real issues and does so in a way that may leave the reader disagreeing with her or the character's decisions. In writing her story in this way, she introduces people to new ideas the realities facing many (Indian) women today.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Brick Lane, by Monica Ali, is a beautifully written novel that tells the story of a woman named Nazneen, who comes from a Bangladeshi village. Obeying the traditions of her culture, Nazneen marries a man that her parents choose for her and is forced to move to London with him. In London, Nazneen feels out of place and lonely...until she meets a man with whom she falls madly in love with. She decides to push fate aside and take control of her own life, by making the choice to start a relationship with this man behind her family's back. Nazneen finally begins to discover the attachment she feels toward her family and the hardships this sense of freedom brings to her.
From the moment I began to read this novel, I was absorbed into the life of Nazneen. Ali's descriptive writing makes one feel as if they are there with the character, going through her struggles and feeling her pain. I recommend this novel to readers who enjoy moving love stories, learning about new cultures, and experiencing the emotions of life.

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Summary: A book I will think about for a long time
Review: This Booker Prize-nominated novel provides engaging characters and thought-provoking insight into the Muslim immigrant world.

The main character, Nazneen, is a young "unspoiled" Bangladeshi village girl who enters into an arranged marriage with a much older Bangladeshi who lives in London. Her beautiful sister defies her father's wishes and elopes in a love match, running off to Dakha. Nazneen has been raised to accept whatever happens to her, but in London, gradually (over the course of 15 years or so) begins to take control of her own life.

Her husband Chanu at first seems clownlike, for example, he frames a collection of meaningless certificates for very minor achievements. Chanu regards himself as a scholar, because he has a BA from a Bangladeshi university, but he realizes that in Britain, he is regarded as nobody of any importance). Nazneen is expected to trim his corns every night, and later, his daughters are expected to sit beside him as he reads to turn the pages for him. But Chanu is a complex person who has a good heart, and the reader develops a fondness for this would-be patriarch. Life has not turned out as he wanted or expected, but he is devoted to his family.

Nazneen, on the other hand, had no expectations of life but has been swept along like a piece of wood in a river. Her transformation -- how to combine the traditional values and reject what is problematic in the western world while recognizing what is bad about the old ways and changing -- forms the plot of the book.

In the background is her sister's story, told in letters; the sister, who was more proactive in her choices, suffers the consequences, and it's hard to avoid wondering if the sister would not have been better off in an arranged marriage. The reader is left pondering Western vs. non-Western values, particularly with regard to love and marriage.

Like other reviewers, I found the use of broken English in her sister's letters baffling and annoying -- fortunately they were a comparatively small part of the book. If her sister was writing in Bengali, wouldn't it be grammatical at least? And why would her sister write in English (which would explain the bad grammar)?

The author has done a great job of creating a very different world for the reader to inhabit. Life for Muslim women both in a council estate (public housing project) in London (Nazneen's story) and a large city in Bangladesh (her sister's story) are described vividly and without romantic illusions.

This is not a quickly read book, but it certainly held my interest all the way through, and I will remember these characters for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: extremely well written book;great perspective of subculture
Review: The author has a beautiful writing style, and is able to delve into the sensitive issues affecting an Islamic minority subculture during the events of September 11th. She succeeds because it is done through the eyes of Nanzeen, someone who believes in her religion strongly, but not in violence, and silently but diligently observes those within her community.

To me the book is about Nanzeen- and she is engaging.
She is a young village girl propelled into London where she meets her selected husband, does as he says(he is good for he does not beat her-this is her initial diagnosis), speaks only her native tongue, and her husband discourages any outside work or classes to learn the language.
She transforms, through trials of her own, and those of her sister, into a woman with her own income, a lover which plagues her with guilt, two children, and a husband she has come to care for over time.
Some say the book is tedious, or the letters are too long, or boring, but I think it well worth the read. Her writing is really beautiful in itself, and the book gives a really different insight into the events surrounding Sep. 11th, and the repercussions thereafter.

Rating:
Summary: Boring and did not make me care
Review: For someone who never puts a book down once I have started no matter how little it appeals to me, I did the impossible and gave up reading the rest of Brick Lane when I arrived at 200 pages. The reviews on Monica Ali's book promised so much, but gave so little. A long drawn out book with a few redeeming scenes (when Nazneen's first child was ill in hospital and she and Chanu took turns to keep watch), Brick Lane is tough going. Especially annoying was the gibberish from Nazneen's sister which I assumed was meant to be Bengali expressed in direct transliteration. The characters were neither fascinating nor inspirational nor interesting nor deserving of empathy. Of course if I had plodded on I might have changed my mind, but the point being that it was so un-engaging there was no desire on my part to get to the end of it.