Brick Lane

Rating:
Summary: Amazing first novel!
Review: The main, only really, lesson Nazneen's mother teaches her is submission to fate. Indeed, Nazneen is "left to her fate" from birth, when she is at first thought to be stillborn. This is a recurrent theme and it's interesting to see how it plays out in her life.

Nazneen's sister Hasina's long letters in broken English -- I suppose it's supposed to be broken Bengali -- at first seem a bit tough to read. But *do* read them as they add a lot to the story.

One reviewer poses the rhetorical question "Who wants to read about some Bangladeshi housewife (or, for that matter, any housewife) holed up in their (sic) boring existence? Well, speaking as on of those boring housewives, I had a hard time believing that we'd read the same book (boring?). I guess fine storytelling, culture clash and psychological insights won't interest everyone.

The one criticism I have is that Monica Ali ties up all the loose ends a bit to neatly for my taste. Brick Lane is so rich and complicated -- until the last few chapters where ALL IS EXPLAINED.

All in all, though, Brick Lane is a definite must-read.



Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: Just really never got in to the characters and I felt the book jumped all over the place. Also, thought the relationship w/the young man Nazneen meets would be more exciting or refreshing -- a total let down.

I didn't care about the characters at all and felt overwhelmed by all of the "letters" regarding Hasina, Nazneen's sister.

Really didn't enjoy it at all.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Read
Review: I bought this book months ago during a book-buying frenzy and just got to it this month. The beginning of the book is so much better than the middle and the end. I never really got to know Nazneen well enough to care what happened to her. The book dragged way too much: the prolonged speeches by Chanu were unnecessary. Once we (the readers) figured out that Chanu liked to talk on and on and on rather than take action, all his subsequent speeches are unneccessary (so I skipped them). The long letters from her sister Hasina are also very annoying. The broken English (which I guess is supposed to be broken Bengali) really dragged the story down. When faced with 20 pages or more of italic printing (Hasina's letters) my interest waned. Not a good way of showing the passage of time. To better show the contrast of lives between the sisters, the author should have written chapters alternating between the two sisters' lives. That would have made Hasina seem more real to me, not just another annoyingly long letter I had to skim through. Also, because the description of the book tells the reader that Nazneen gets involved with a young man, I was looking forward to this event and was (again) ultimately disappointed. The love affair doesn't seem very intense and I don't see how it changed Nazneen at all. Although I applaud Nazneen's decision regarding the direction of her life, it seemed to come about it a rather ho-hum type of way. I found the book less than thrilling and am amazed at the 2-4 pages of quotes inside the book from critics (and other authors) deliriously declaring that this book is genuis and beautiful and worthy of tears of joy upon finishing it. I think they are crazy. I have read books worthy of shouting and crying, but not this one. If you want a good read by a new author, read The Time-Traveler's Wife. It is wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: A Woman's Awakening
Review: The Story tells the story of one woman's journey to find her true self-desires, interests, opinions. I had a difficult time putting it down, but there were parts that were somewhat dry.

Rating:
Summary: Just a bit boring
Review: After 160 pages, I finally gave up. I tried and tried and waited for it to turn a corner and turn interesting, but it just never did, so I stopped and moved on to my next book. The writing is pretty good, but the story is very slow moving and a bit dull. Disappointing, considering so many others have said they liked it.

Rating:
Summary: Black Book Lover TOP 10 of 2004!!
Review: AS THE NEW YEAR IS UPON US, I OFFICIALLY OFFER YOU MY LIST OF THE 10 BEST BOOKS THAT I'VE READ IN 2004. THIS IS OUT OF ABOUT 84 BOOKS THAT I'VE READ THIS YEAR. EVERY SINGLE BOOK ON THIS LIST IS A MASTERPIECE WORTH BUYING. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED WITH GREAT LITERATURE LIKE THE FOLLOWING:

"THE DARKEST CHILD"--Delores Phillips

The finest, most dramatic debut I've read in years. Top notch and gut-wrenching. This is by far the best book of 2004.

"BRICK LANE"--Monica Ali

Superb entry into a world foreign yet all too familiar. Flawless, beautiful writing.

"HOTTENTOT VENUS"--Barbara Chase Riboud

A True Story. Which makes this book all the more shocking and tragic. By now you've heard of the kidnapped and dehumanized South African woman paraded in the 1800's Europe as a "freak" because of her huge posterior and the apron over her genitals. Chase Riboud chronicles the tale perfectly and makes it far more interesting than just history. The fact that "Sarah" was like a Pop Superstar of her day makes it all the more chilling in my opinion. A definite Must-Read.

"FLESH AND THE DEVIL"--Kola Boof

Totally original, unexpected black love story. Chock full of African history, U.S. black history, fantastic plot twists, pulsating sex, equally dazzling "lovemaking", brilliant observations about race, color and sexism and plenty of risk-taking by the sensational Sudanese-born Kola Boof, truly a NEW STAR in the "epic" sense. Fabulous!

"ERASURE"---Percival Everett

I know. I'm late reading this one. But it's classic, fantastic, the greatest book ever written about being a "black" writer today. SUPERB. 10 Stars.

"A DISTANT SHORE"--Caryl Phillips

Great novel about "human beings" ripped apart in their own world and then thrown together in new equally dreadful surroundings. A black man and a white woman are juxtaposed in England with terribly beautiful insight by the writer. It's a hard book to explain, except that it's about human beings finding their real true minds. Superb!!!! I give this one 10 stars.

"DRINKING COFFEE ELSEWHERE"--Z.Z. Packer

The breakout debut of the new Alice Walker and Toni Morrison rolled into one. Z.Z. Packer is outrageously talented and brilliant. These sparse, witty, intelligent, insightful short stories will bring you to tears, make you laugh and truly astonish you.

"THE KNOWN WORLD"--Edward P. Jones

This book starts off kind of "slow", but once you get into it, it's quite shocking, easily one of the most important stories told in a decade. Jones deserves all the accolades and awards he's received for this masterful masterpiece of the new century.

"LOVE"--Toni Morrison

Still the undisputable greatest writer writing. Toni Morrison offers up one of her very best novels, the most underrated and overlooked novel of the year. Absolutely meszmerizing, a bute.

Rating:
Summary: Culture Clash
Review: For the first 200 pages, Brick Lane is absolutely fascinating and the story of Nazneen, her childhood in Bangladesh and how he she is married off to London really grabs. But from then on, the story starts to drag a bit (like some other reviewers, I couldn't get into the 40 pages of Hasina's letters, written in broken English).
Still, all in all I think the hype for this book is deserved: The alienation of Bangladeshis in London is very well described, the characters in the book are multilayered and believable (for example, Chanu, Nazneen's husband, is a gem and Mrs Islam adds some color, too) and there is enough substance, inelligence and feeling to fill half a dozen of lesser books. With a bit of pruning, Brick Lane could have been a perfect 350 page novel.

Rating:
Summary: Is it thought provoking? Um, yes.
Review:
I got through maybe half of the book and put it down for a week. I thought it might not apply to me, that maybe I was too different or too far from that culture for it to feel relevant.

In that week, I realized that she was struggling with almost exactly the same questions I was. She was coming to the same unacceptable, or desireable, answers. And she was getting there by a completely different route.

I started reading it again.

I keep thinking about it even though I finished it a month ago. Perhaps it's a slow-acting book. At least it's working that way on me. Every now and then I get a glimmer of the wisdom that's there.

It's a good book. It's well written. I suppose I'm disappointed because what I'm seeing in it isn't magical, cure-all wisdom. It's the wisdom that people gain and use, almost only when it's not easy.