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Bookish Quotes
"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it."
Brick Lane
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Brick Lane
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6 journalers for this copy...
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I have to give this a conditional thumbs up; it’s a very good book...but. BL is a brilliant social commentary about Bangladeshis (any immigrant/cultural group?) living in modern Britain, and specifically women, trying to reconcile their traditions with the ‘modern’ ways of their hosts and their own children. Nazneen rebels against her lack of freedom in an arranged marriage, first in her thoughts, and then deeds. It’s the growing recognition of her strengths and choices (the love story is secondary for me) that is the main theme running through the novel, and she eventually breaks away and leaves the village behind. All good stuff so far. But, I felt very sorry for Karim, and particular Chanu, the cuckolded husband. The men are shown as less sympathetic, and ultimately unfulfilled characters, foolishly making plans and chasing dreams; but no less victims of their culture & circumstances than the women? Of Karim’s wide-eyed idealism, Chanu says, “The thing about getting older is that you don’t need everything to be possible any more, you just need some things to be certain.” Last, but not least, how could Monica Ali resist the temptation not to make the awful Mrs Islam suffer more, which is at odds with the swift brutal justice in her home country. Maybe her pain is waiting for her in the next life? |
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Thanks very much, BookGroupMan, for sending Brick Lane and A Fool's Alphabet (a bonus book!) by airmail -- both books arrived yesterday, and I was thrilled to receive them. I've added both to the top of my burgeoning TBR pile, and will let you know what I think when I've read them. Thanks again -- it's been delightful corresponding with you. Please feel free to let me know any time you see something on my shelf you'd like to read :^).
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Brick Lane went travelling with me this weekend -- from Vancouver to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory (see photo at left -- that's her, propped up at the bottom of the "u" in "Yukon"...!). I enjoyed this book very much, and can't remember feeling this attached to a fictional family in quite some time. I found both Nazneen, the protagonist, and Chanu, her older husband, to be entirely sympathetic characters, and I appreciated the glimpse Brick Lane provided into the interior lives of a Bengali-English family, trying to find their way in a culture so at odds with their own. No doubt my fascination is partly voyeuristic -- a literal "peeking behind the veil" at hidden faces and lives to which I've had so little exposure (I found myself looking differently today at a woman on the commuter train platform wearing a hijab...). But the overall feeling I'm left with is that underneath even profound cultural differences, the fundamental struggles of this life are surprisingly constant: the love/hate of family, sexual fidelity, the struggle to get ahead financially and the circuitous journey Home -- wherever that is. A wonderful read -- thanks so much, BookGroupMan, for sharing it with me.Off to crazy-book-lady in Toronto next ...! |
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This book will be off in tomorrow's mail (June 2, 2004) to crazy-book-lady in Toronto. (At left: the view from the porch of my motel room in Atlin, British Columbia -- two hours south of Whitehorse -- where I read most of Brick Lane.)
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This book has now been in four Canadian provinces, and one territory. When it arrived in Ontario in June I decided to save it for my holiday reading in August when we were to go out west to visit my family. On the flight to Saskatchewan I finished two other books that I had on the go, and started reading Brick Lane. (The picture is of the river and part of the downtown skyline in Saskatoon. On the riverbank you can see the tents where the Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan festival takes place.)
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From Saskatoon, the book travelled with us to do some hiking in Cypress Hills Interprovincial park, in the southwest corner of the province. We actually stayed in a B&B in a town on the Alberta side of the park. I took the book along on an amazing hike which is part of the Trans-Canada Trail. Here is the book on top of the marker at the trailhead.
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The hike took us up to a cliff, made of conglomerate rock, overlooking the park. A spectacular view! Definitely not your stereotypical prairie scenery!
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After a brief stop back in Saskatoon, we headed north (basically to the very centre of the province) to stay at my parent's cabin, where I finally finished the book. The picture is of the lake at sunset. There is nothing like a Saskatchewan sunset!So enough reminiscing about my holiday...I did enjoy the book, though I can't really articulate why I felt that it didn't quite live up to my expectations. I found Nazneen's affair with Karim to be extremely selfish, so my sympathy for her character waned considerably at that point. The incorporation of world events into the story was interesting. It is quite an impressive first novel. Thanks for sharing this with me goatgrrl. Brick Lane is now ready to resume its travels! |
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Released 6 yrs ago (2/11/2005 UTC) at Jamaca Blue Coffee Shop in Casuarina NT Australia, a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases WILD RELEASE NOTES:
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Journal Entry 16 by
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Journal Entry 17 by
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Journal Entry 18 by
Released 6 yrs ago (6/12/2005 UTC) at Australia Post in Fellow Bookcrosser, A Book Relay -- Controlled Releases WILD RELEASE NOTES:
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Journal Entry 19 by
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