Brick Lane by Monica Ali

Source of book: Audiobook from the library

 

Sometimes I can’t remember exactly how a book ended up on my “to read” list. I think this one might have come from a review in The Guardian, but I really am not sure. The book is from 2003, hardly new, so I guess I must have run across something about it somewhere. 

 

As with many of my audiobooks, I end up with whatever is currently available off my list. This one happened to be, and I needed something to cover some driving. Also, I am always working to include the voices of women and minorities in my reading - those voices are under attack by the right wing right now (the overwhelming majority of challenged books are by women, minorities, and LGBTQ people.) 

Monica Ali was born in Bangladesh (which was then East Pakistan) to a Bengali father and an English mother. The family moved to Britain when she was a toddler, so she was raised there, and eventually studied (of all things) philosophy at Oxford. 

 

In addition to her writing, she has done significant charitable work, worked with PEN, and even ended up modeling for Mark’s and Spencer’s. An interesting resume to be sure. 

 

Brick Lane is the story of a Bangladeshi immigrant to London, set in the 20 years leading up to and immediately after the 9/11 attacks. 

 

Nazneen is a young woman of barely 18, who is sent by her parents to marry Chanu, a 40 year old man who has immigrated to London. This is precipitated by the fact that her younger sister, Hasina, has eloped with her lover. Best to preserve the virtue of the other daughter. 

 

But there is some emotional backstory here. Nazneen appears to be dead when she is born, and, rather than seek medical attention, they just leave her to live or die as she chooses. She lives. 

 

From there, we see Nazneen’s life unfold. She settles into marriage with Chanu, who is a complicated, deeply human character. The good news is, he isn’t abusive - at heart he’s a pretty decent guy. But he also has a lot of patriarchal baggage, is overeducated for his opportunities (and is thus a bit insufferably snobbish), and is incapable of parenting without screaming and threats. 

 

This naturally causes incredible friction between Chanu and his oldest daughter, who at one point runs away rather than move back to Bangladesh. 

 

The book is a bit all over the place, because it is a messy account of a complicated life. Chanu hopes for advancement, but as an immigrant (even an educated one with good English skills), he refused promotion while less qualified white men are moved up. Nazneen has to make friends, learn English, raise two daughters, and eventually, support the family by taking on sewing. 

 

The couple loses an infant to illness, flirts with bankruptcy multiple times, falls in debt to the local loan shark (who is a great character and a most excellent villain), and eventually separate when Nazneen choses to stay behind when Chanu moves back home. 

 

Nazneen, stuck in a loveless marriage, has a torrid affair with a younger man, but eventually chooses to send him away. 

 

And, while all this is going on, a neo-Nazi group, the Lionhearts, engages in a hate campaign against the immigrant population, and is countered by an Islamic group, the Bengal Tigers, leading to some clashes, but mostly pamphlet wars. 

 

My least favorite part of the book was the meetings of the Bengal Tigers. While Ali does take the time to illuminate all of the internal conflicts and divisions and questions of priorities and tactics, these go on far too long, and stopped the pace of the narrative. 

 

At its core, though, the story is of Nazneen growing up. From a little girl who took from the trauma of her birth and virtual abandonment to fate a belief that one must simply passively accept fate, to a woman who takes control and ownership of her own life and decisions. This is a great story arc, and Ali makes it compelling. 

 

The characters are memorable and well drawn, familiar and foreign at the same time. And, to be honest, a good bit of the foreign feel stems from the setting in Britain. I mean, poor people can just get free health care? What socialist nightmare is this? 

 

I will also note that Ayesha Dharker did a great job narrating - the characters were clear and distinguishable, and she brought out the differences in language the characters use in the book very well. 

 

I may have to check out Ali’s other books as well.