Debut literary novel set in Asian community in London's East End - the story of a village girl from Bangladesh and how she makes the urban village of Brick Lane her new home - by a stunning new talent.
Monica Ali was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and grew up in England. She is one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists of the decade, Newcomer of the Year at the 2004 British Book Awards and has been nominated for most of the major literary prizes in Britain. BRICK LANE was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the George Orwell Prize for political writing and the prestigious Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Internationally there has been similar recognition including, in the United States, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times 'First Fiction' Prize where the book was shortlisted. Monica Ali lives in London with her husband and two children.
"'The new rising star of English fiction post Zadie Smith ...
Highly recommended.'"
*Marie Claire*
"'Monica Ali is a fabulous writer, and Brick Lane is finely
observed, deeply compassionate, wry and tender.'"
*Meera Syal*
"'A very special novel - I adored it. It gave me everything I crave
in a novel ... You won't publish a better novel in 2003.'"
*Margaret Forster*
"'A very special novel - I adored it. It gave me everything I crave
in a novel - entertaining, moving and fascinating.'"
*Margaret Forster*
"'Entertaining and full of insight ... talented, thoughtful and
mature.'"
*Hilary Mantel*
The immigrant world Ali chronicles in this penetrating, unsentimental debut has much in common with Zadie Smith's scrappy, multicultural London, though its sheltered protagonist rarely leaves her rundown East End apartment block where she is surrounded by fellow Bangladeshis. After a brief opening section set in East Pakistan-Nazneen's younger sister, the beautiful Hasina, elopes in a love marriage, and the quiet, plain Nazneen is married off to an older man-Ali begins a meticulous exploration of Nazneen's life in London, where her husband has taken her to live. Chanu fancies himself a frustrated intellectual and continually expounds upon the "tragedy of immigration" to his young wife (and anyone else who will listen), while letters from downtrodden Hasina provide a contrast to his idealized memories of Bangladesh. Nazneen, for her part, leads a relatively circumscribed life as a housewife and mother, and her experience of London in the 1980s and '90s is mostly indirect, through her children (rebellious Shahana and meek Bibi) and her variously assimilated neighbors. The realistic complexity of the characters is quietly stunning: Nazneen shrugs off her passivity at just the right moment, and the supporting cast-Chanu, the ineffectual patriarch; Nazneen's defiant and struggling neighbor, Razia (proud wearer of a Union Jack sweatshirt); and Karim, the foolish young Muslim radical with whom Nazneen eventually has an affair-are all richly drawn. By keeping the focus on their perceptions, Ali comments on larger issues of identity and assimilation without drawing undue attention to the fact, even gracefully working in September 11. Carefully observed and assured, the novel is free of pyrotechnics, its power residing in Ali's unsparing scrutiny of its hapless, hopeful protagonists. (Sept.) Forecast: Ali, who was the only unpublished writer on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists 2003 list, should attract considerable attention as she embarks on a five-city author tour in the U.S. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
"'The new rising star of English fiction post Zadie Smith ...
Highly recommended.'" * Marie Claire *
"'Monica Ali is a fabulous writer, and Brick Lane is finely
observed, deeply compassionate, wry and tender.'" -- Meera Syal
"'A very special novel - I adored it. It gave me everything I crave
in a novel ... You won't publish a better novel in 2003.'" --
Margaret Forster
"'A very special novel - I adored it. It gave me everything I crave
in a novel - entertaining, moving and fascinating.'" -- Margaret
Forster
"'Entertaining and full of insight ... talented, thoughtful and
mature.'" -- Hilary Mantel
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