Reviews

Brick Lane by Monica Ali

rmschultz's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I read this book 18 years ago, and again just now. I only remembered that it was good. It took a minute to get into it, but I soon found it hard to put down.

maketeaa's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

reading brick lane as someone who has literally lived in the same area feels like realising that the colour your room is painted has actually been wallpaper all this time. monica ali is a master of description, of creating a universe out of the universe we already have, and inviting us into the culture-clashing, diasporic world of the bengali community of east london. it is in this arena that ali explores the family dynamics of a quintessentially bengali household in a country that is not their own. nazneen, the protagonist, a village girl who became the young bride of her husband, chanu, holds onto the very foundation on which she was born into this world -- it is all up to fate. but as she navigates her space in a country where she's confronted with challenges to what is almost a fatalistic approach to life, an approach that is inherently a patriarchal creation that discourages agency in married bengali women, nazneen realises that there is a space for her to navigate. from the sickness of her first child, to her small rebellions against her husband, to her affair with bengal tigers chairman karim, nazneen learns to conflate her trust in fate, her tawakkul, with the necessity to take action -- as said in one of my favourite lines in the book, 'allah provided a way, and she found it'.

lsparrow's review against another edition

3.0

a story about a young bengali woman's journey to life in london.

vanessa1756's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

nainatai's review against another edition

5.0

I am SO glad I read this! I loved her writing, i loved how she manages to capture Nazneen's feelings. And I absolutely love the fact that to put her point across, she didn't turn her husband into a monster. When you start the book, you think it's going to be about a whole lot of suffering and abuse, but it turns out to be much different than that. Definitely recommend.

jodiehanley's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

charlottesteggz's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

carlyg123's review against another edition

4.0

Not something I'd have read if it wasn't on my university reading list, but it was a good enough read.

Like Of Mice and Men in the narrative, with the way in which it tells a story. There seems no beginning, middle or end. Just a tale of a migrant family. And it was insightful.

mepsem's review against another edition

2.0

I appreciated the desire and longing for more, the need to carry on and to do so. A story of hope, a generational experience of craving more.

blakefrymusic's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I had to read this book for a class and I seriously struggled to stay engaged. I recommend the audiobook if you’re having trouble! Otherwise it’s not that bad. The main character is pretty lifeless which is by design, but doesn’t make for a very compelling perspective. Cool to learn about the setting, culture, and history of this era however.