“I picked up Brick Lane solely cause of the hype it had created on its release, being selected for Granta best young British novelists list before it was even published and of course something about the immigrant Bangladeshi population in the heart of London does have its clichéd appeal. The only thing which actually was deterring to me was its shortlisting for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Most of the recent shortlists have been a disappointment to me with lot of ‘not really required’ childhood or teenage abuse, incestuous relationships and similar incidents thrown in good measure. I am no weak-hearted and if the story really demands or is really shaped by these incidents, I believe this kind of paucity ironically might add to the richness of the story but most of the time, they seem to be gimmicks to play to the gallery. Similarly most of the time, for an Asian or a Middle-eastern author writing about the ills of the society, is simply a way to sell the book to the poverty hungry western world that seems to thrive and feel good about self by reading the ills of other societies. Happily, Brick Lane is none of these and carefully keeps away from these clichés throughout the novel. Its ‘simple yet not simplistic’ prose and beautiful similes and metaphors make you dream and create a ‘realistic’ dream world. The book traces the story of Nazneen, a young Bangladeshi woman trapped in an arranged marriage to an older man Chanu and brought with him to live amidst the other migrant Bangladeshi population in the Brick Lane of England. Nazneen grows and matures with each page of the book, from a young idealistic fledgling to a matured strong woman who understands that world is not defined in black and white and love is often not the rosy perfection it’s painted to be. Her husband is not the cruel wife beater and author clearly saves us from the trap of a painful cruel marriage for the book is not about it. Ali cleverly touches upon the migrant dilemma, the often underlying truths behind cultural clashes but leaves the judgment and analysis to her readers for she has deeper motive, telling a story about hope and life and she succeeds in that. One of the few books that lives up to its hype. Highly Recommended!”
nids13 wrote this review Tuesday, October 9, 2012.
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