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A review by lizaroo71
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
3.0
nanzeen is from a small village in bangladesh. her sister, hasina, is beautiful beyond her years and runs off with her chosen love when she is only sixteen. nanzeen is married off to a man in london, chanu. she is only eighteen when she makes her way to her new life in britain.
chanu is a kind man, but one that reads rather than acts. he surrounds himself in knowledge and seeking certificates and ruminating on what he learns, but he doesn't engage nanzeen in meaningful conversation. she doesn't know what he is saying half of the time; moreover, she doesn't care.
nanzeen and chanu continue in their marriage and father three children, the first of which, a boy, dies in infancy. her two daughters, bibi and shahana, are products of modern london, not the villages of bangladesh. chanu wants to return to their home country much to the chagrin of the entire family.
the story is really about conflicting cultures, growing up in one place without knowing your roots and being displaced in a new community.
chanu is a kind man, but one that reads rather than acts. he surrounds himself in knowledge and seeking certificates and ruminating on what he learns, but he doesn't engage nanzeen in meaningful conversation. she doesn't know what he is saying half of the time; moreover, she doesn't care.
nanzeen and chanu continue in their marriage and father three children, the first of which, a boy, dies in infancy. her two daughters, bibi and shahana, are products of modern london, not the villages of bangladesh. chanu wants to return to their home country much to the chagrin of the entire family.
the story is really about conflicting cultures, growing up in one place without knowing your roots and being displaced in a new community.