A review by jenmat1197
Brick Lane by Monica Ali

emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.0

 

This is a story about Nazneen.  As a young woman, she is forced into an arranged marriage to a man 20 years older.  Once married she is moved from Bangladesh to London where she doesn't speak the language, doesn't understand the culture, and is away from everyone she knows.  However, she focuses on being a wife and eventually a mother and finds there are times she loves her husband.  However - an affair with a person her age makes her realize that leaving London and eventually going back to Bangladesh might not be what she wants.

This was a strange book.  I never did really get into it.  There were long drawn out chapters that were written in letter form - jumping months at a time.  It was in the middle of the book and such a left turn from the plot it was startling.  Then it went back to the plot.  It was a long meandering book with a plot that was all over the place and the ending was unsatisfatory.  I was reading this for the Rory Gilmore Challenge (which I am starting to question if I should continue) and just did not enjoy it.