Brick Lane
by Monica Ali
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List Price: ££7.99
Our Price: ££2.00
Your Save: £ 0.00 ( % )
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: Black Swan
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780552771153
ISBN: 0552771155
Label: Black Swan
Number Of Pages: 496
Publication Date: 2004-05-01
Publisher: Black Swan
Release Date: 2004-04-22
Studio: Black Swan
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Aims high, but falls well short
Comment: A review should always try to address its subject in its own terms. The purpose, after all, is many-sided, to summarise, paraphrase, contextualise, all with the express intention of informing a potentially interested participant of the nature of the experience on offer. Any proffered review that merely says I did or did not like it is thus entirely specious, since it conveys nothing of the work in focus, only the doubly-uninterpretable reaction of a dismembered, effectively anonymous opinion.
So in the case of Brick Lane by Monica Ali a dutiful list of the elements must begin with the setting. For the majority non-Londoners, Brick Lane is a market street in East London. It is just up the road from the eastern fringes of the City of London, the financial centre that boasts gleaming towers and vast wealth. (Or perhaps it once did!)
But over the years Brick Lane has been a magnet for new migrants, communities marginalised by both origin and destination. It has also been a centre for political action of all shades. The current occupants of this social clearing house are Bangladeshis and the street, in particular, has become a centre for Bangladeshi culture and food.
So, at the centre of Monica Ali's novel is a Bangladeshi woman, Nazneen, who arrives in Britain to meet her husband, Chanu, an apparently slobbering slob, imbued with more social manners than domestic. But arrangement suffices, as Nazneen learns to cope with married life in a foreign place in which she has no ties and little communication.
Nazneen's experience in London's Brick Lane is juxtaposed via an exchange of letters with the parallel experience of Hasina, her sister in Bangladesh. The two women's experiences eventually diverge as local pressures demand decision and action.
The contrasts, along with the considered tensions between white working class racism and Muslim identity promotion in east London ought to provide a powerful vehicle with which to explore worlds of culture, experience, relationships and ideology. Brick Lane, unfortunately, falls short of every destination. Unfortunately again, the characters are weak, the artifice feels false, the vibrant location is portrayed as dull and the passions of ideological difference are confused and politically limp or naive.
Brick Lane was an ambitious project, but it began confused and lost direction as it progressed. It does have its moments, but its hours are long, and not a little tedious.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Difficult going
Comment: Couldnt wait to read it and unlike the book I'll be brief with my review. The characters are well thought out and excellently written. Some absorbing vivid touches but in a book that is ridiculously over-written, these deft moments are lost. Clearly Monical Ali can write prose very well, but her story telling style drove me potty. Unfortunately i didnt actually finish the book...half way through i was lost amongst all the words. Its sorely overwritten - and honestly i cannot understand the hype.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Some moving parts
Comment: I was so looking forward to reading this book but overall I was slightly disappointed.
The first half of the story which describes Nazneen's arrival in Britain as a young bride, her difficult life in London and the tragedy of losing her first child, was gripping. However I found the account of her affair with Karim and the repetitive descriptions of her daughters' struggles with their father went on for much longer than was necessary. I was pleasantly surprised though when the final section of the novel, where Nazneen and her husband reach an understanding about whether to return to Bangladesh or not, actually moved me to tears.
In summary, this is a good book with some moving parts, but not a great work of literature.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Should I keep reading?
Comment: Perhaps it is not a good idea to write a review only 200 (out of 500) pages into a book but here goes! I bought this book as I enjoy reading about different cultures, I enjoyed reading the Kite Runner and felt it gave me a real feel and understanding of the culture, it was a real page turner. However as other people have mentioned in their reviews Brick Lane is too long and wordy. It takes a long time to get anywhere and I'm wondering if I should just give up! I will persevere but it is not a book that I find difficult to put down. One of the problems for me is that few of the characters are particularly likeable. Nazeen should be likeable as she is not in the best situation (in an arranged marriage to a man she is not in love with, does not find attractive, finds irritating, and is controlling) but I feel that I want to shake her and tell her to speak up and try to improve her situation even in small ways. I'm disappointed by this book and I only hope it improves and lives up to all the quotes which praise it on the cover!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Over-rated
Comment: I tried reading this book about 3 months ago. But, about 60 pages into it, my attention and interest wavered. I found it to be a strenous physical effort to stay attuned to the narritive. But, then 2 weeks ago, I decided to give it another chance...and I have admittedly got much further this time. But, its still so boring. There is no evident hook in this story. Nazneen is a likeable and inoffensive character, but her relationship with Chanu is tedious. Okay, so they are not a well matched couple, but so what?! I have read the work of other authors who shed a gripping light unto other cultures (namely Zadie Smith and Khalid Housseini) and compared to them Monica Ali falls very short of the bar. I am so shocked by the critical acclaim received by the novel...were the critics reading the same book as I am reading? I am halfway through...and I REALLY do not see the narritive and storyline picking up. I am forcing myself through this novel, giving Monica the benefit of the doubt, by vainly hoping that the story will pick up...but NOTHING. And the correspondence (letters) from her sister, Hasina, are bloomin' pointless. They fail to add any wanted depth to the story. I cannot bring myself to read them, despite my best intentions.
I hate to be so overly critical. I am sure that 'Brick Lane' was a product of deep labour of love. But, I honestly, am finding it TEDIOUS. It is really lacking something...completely devoid of a good hook, storyline...Its just words, which loosely combine to tell a Bangladeshi ladies story.
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Editorial Reviews: |
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Aims high, but falls well short
Comment: A review should always try to address its subject in its own terms. The purpose, after all, is many-sided, to summarise, paraphrase, contextualise, all with the express intention of informing a potentially interested participant of the nature of the experience on offer. Any proffered review that merely says I did or did not like it is thus entirely specious, since it conveys nothing of the work in focus, only the doubly-uninterpretable reaction of a dismembered, effectively anonymous opinion.
So in the case of Brick Lane by Monica Ali a dutiful list of the elements must begin with the setting. For the majority non-Londoners, Brick Lane is a market street in East London. It is just up the road from the eastern fringes of the City of London, the financial centre that boasts gleaming towers and vast wealth. (Or perhaps it once did!)
But over the years Brick Lane has been a magnet for new migrants, communities marginalised by both origin and destination. It has also been a centre for political action of all shades. The current occupants of this social clearing house are Bangladeshis and the street, in particular, has become a centre for Bangladeshi culture and food.
So, at the centre of Monica Ali's novel is a Bangladeshi woman, Nazneen, who arrives in Britain to meet her husband, Chanu, an apparently slobbering slob, imbued with more social manners than domestic. But arrangement suffices, as Nazneen learns to cope with married life in a foreign place in which she has no ties and little communication.
Nazneen's experience in London's Brick Lane is juxtaposed via an exchange of letters with the parallel experience of Hasina, her sister in Bangladesh. The two women's experiences eventually diverge as local pressures demand decision and action.
The contrasts, along with the considered tensions between white working class racism and Muslim identity promotion in east London ought to provide a powerful vehicle with which to explore worlds of culture, experience, relationships and ideology. Brick Lane, unfortunately, falls short of every destination. Unfortunately again, the characters are weak, the artifice feels false, the vibrant location is portrayed as dull and the passions of ideological difference are confused and politically limp or naive.
Brick Lane was an ambitious project, but it began confused and lost direction as it progressed. It does have its moments, but its hours are long, and not a little tedious.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Difficult going
Comment: Couldnt wait to read it and unlike the book I'll be brief with my review. The characters are well thought out and excellently written. Some absorbing vivid touches but in a book that is ridiculously over-written, these deft moments are lost. Clearly Monical Ali can write prose very well, but her story telling style drove me potty. Unfortunately i didnt actually finish the book...half way through i was lost amongst all the words. Its sorely overwritten - and honestly i cannot understand the hype.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Some moving parts
Comment: I was so looking forward to reading this book but overall I was slightly disappointed.
The first half of the story which describes Nazneen's arrival in Britain as a young bride, her difficult life in London and the tragedy of losing her first child, was gripping. However I found the account of her affair with Karim and the repetitive descriptions of her daughters' struggles with their father went on for much longer than was necessary. I was pleasantly surprised though when the final section of the novel, where Nazneen and her husband reach an understanding about whether to return to Bangladesh or not, actually moved me to tears.
In summary, this is a good book with some moving parts, but not a great work of literature.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Should I keep reading?
Comment: Perhaps it is not a good idea to write a review only 200 (out of 500) pages into a book but here goes! I bought this book as I enjoy reading about different cultures, I enjoyed reading the Kite Runner and felt it gave me a real feel and understanding of the culture, it was a real page turner. However as other people have mentioned in their reviews Brick Lane is too long and wordy. It takes a long time to get anywhere and I'm wondering if I should just give up! I will persevere but it is not a book that I find difficult to put down. One of the problems for me is that few of the characters are particularly likeable. Nazeen should be likeable as she is not in the best situation (in an arranged marriage to a man she is not in love with, does not find attractive, finds irritating, and is controlling) but I feel that I want to shake her and tell her to speak up and try to improve her situation even in small ways. I'm disappointed by this book and I only hope it improves and lives up to all the quotes which praise it on the cover!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Over-rated
Comment: I tried reading this book about 3 months ago. But, about 60 pages into it, my attention and interest wavered. I found it to be a strenous physical effort to stay attuned to the narritive. But, then 2 weeks ago, I decided to give it another chance...and I have admittedly got much further this time. But, its still so boring. There is no evident hook in this story. Nazneen is a likeable and inoffensive character, but her relationship with Chanu is tedious. Okay, so they are not a well matched couple, but so what?! I have read the work of other authors who shed a gripping light unto other cultures (namely Zadie Smith and Khalid Housseini) and compared to them Monica Ali falls very short of the bar. I am so shocked by the critical acclaim received by the novel...were the critics reading the same book as I am reading? I am halfway through...and I REALLY do not see the narritive and storyline picking up. I am forcing myself through this novel, giving Monica the benefit of the doubt, by vainly hoping that the story will pick up...but NOTHING. And the correspondence (letters) from her sister, Hasina, are bloomin' pointless. They fail to add any wanted depth to the story. I cannot bring myself to read them, despite my best intentions.
I hate to be so overly critical. I am sure that 'Brick Lane' was a product of deep labour of love. But, I honestly, am finding it TEDIOUS. It is really lacking something...completely devoid of a good hook, storyline...Its just words, which loosely combine to tell a Bangladeshi ladies story.
With its gritty Tower Hamlets setting, this sharply observed contemporary novel about the life of an Asian immigrant girl deals cogently with issues of love, cultural difference and the human spirit. The pre-publicity hype about Brick Lane was precisely the kind to set alarm bells ringing (we've heard it so often before), but, for once, the excitement is fully justified: Monica Ali's debut novel demonstrates that there is a new voice in modern fiction to be reckoned with. Nazneen is a teenager forced into an arranged marriage with a man considerably older than her--a man whose expectations of life are so low that misery seems to stretch ahead for her. Fearfully leaving the sultry oppression of her Bangladeshi village, Nazneen finds herself cloistered in a small flat in a high-rise block in the East End of London. Because she speaks no English, she is obliged to depend totally on her husband. But it becomes apparent that, of the two, she is the real survivor: more able to deal with the ways of the world, and a better judge of the vagaries of human behaviour. She makes friends with another Asian girl, Razia, who is the conduit to her understanding of the unsettling ways of her new homeland. This is a novel of genuine insight, with the kind of characterisation that reminds the reader at every turn just what the novel form is capable of. Every character (Nazneen, her disappointed husband and her resourceful friend Razia) is drawn with the complexity that can really only be found in the novel these days. In some ways, the reader is given the same all-encompassing experience as in a Dickens novel: humour and tragedy rub shoulders in a narrative that inexorably grips the reader. Whether or not Monica Ali can follow up this achievement is a question for the future; it's enough to say right now that Brick Lane is an essential read for anyone interested in current British fiction. --Barry Forshaw
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