by Jan Wright

Created on: November 03, 2009

I decided to submit my review of "Brick Lane," by Monica Ali because, after reading the other four reviews, my response and critique of this book was quite different. I applaud Ali for attempting to bring topics such as assimilation, culture, identity and fate to the forefront of discussion. However, I found this book to be quite weak in areas such as character development and plausibility.

"Brick Lane," by Monica Ali, is a novel set in Bangladesh and later in England. The main character is Nazneen. Nazneen submits to Fate throughout her entire life. It was fate that brought her life and fate that made her marry Chanu and move to England. Fate brought her a son and fate did not allow him to live. Fate brought her two daughters and fate dealt Chanu a disappointing career. Nazneen chronicles her sister, Hasina's life which she feels is quite different than hers because unlike Nazneen, Hasina never submits to fate. Ali adequately describes the struggles of a Bengali family living in Britain. She wonderfully elaborates on the scenes and experiences that Nazneen and her sister face both in Bangladesh and in England. Ali does a fairly good job at depicting the two worlds of Bangladesh and England. Although, I have never been to Bangladesh, so I can only assume that this is the case. The struggle to integrate into British culture, yet to preserve one's culture is one that many immigrants face and is sufficiently portrayed. However, Chanu is the only one who talks of racism, we know little about the daughters and the struggles that they face and/or her friend, Razia's experiences in language learning. I understand the themes Muslim society is oppressive, Bangladesh is a patriarchal society, women should not ask questions, etc. Yet, I feel a breath of western preaching at the expense of the characters. Certainly there is a case to be made for the oppression of women, as Nazneen's father and Chanu do tend to treat the women as second class citizens. However, I feel that these were emphasized at the expense of the character and plot development.

One of Ali's flaws, is her character development. I realize that this is a book about freedom. Nazneen finally realizes that she must choose the life that she wants. She realizes that she does have the freedom to navigate her own life. However, Ali sacrifices her characters to accentuate this point. Nazneen almost seems to have no emotions. she is to accept her life and not be either happy or sad about such things. Because

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