Y.O!

Reviewed by: Kristi How, 18
Y.O! blogger

Brick Lane by Monica Ali, is a book about a Bangladeshi woman, Nazeen, sent to marry a man she does not know in England by her father. At first, Nazeen is rather fatalistic in the way she views the world and would rather leave things up to God than take things into her own hands.

However, Nazeen soon has to deal with the increasing amount of racial and religious tension in her neighbourhood, her seemingly unhappy marriage and her surprising affair. As the conflicts of the novel unfurl, Nazeen begins to grow not only as an individual but also in her new role as wife, mother and lover.

Set in a Bangladeshi-majority housing estate in London, Brick Lane gives a human face to issues that are becoming increasingly important in this day and age. Problems like multiculturalism, terrorism and what it means to be a woman in modern society are all examined under Ali’s beautifully written prose. Humanely forgiving yet profoundly affecting, Brick Lane is a novel that will astound and grip you at the same time.

Title: Brick Lane
Author: Monica Ali
Publisher: London : Doubleday, 2003.
Call No.: English ALI

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