GreenMetropolis.com
Description:
'With its gritty Tower Hamlets setting, this sharply observed contemporary novel about the life of an Asian immigrant girl deals cogently with issues of love, cultural difference and the human spirit. The pre-publicity hype about Brick Lane was precisely the kind to set alarm bells ringing (we've heard it so often before), but, for once, the excitement is fully justified: Monica Ali's debut novel demonstrates that there is a new voice in modern fiction to be reckoned with.
Nazneen is a teenager forced into an arranged marriage with a man considerably older than her--a man whose expectations of life are so low that misery seems to stretch ahead for her. Fearfully leaving the sultry oppression of her Bangladeshi village, Nazneen finds herself cloistered in a small flat in a high-rise block in the East End of London. Because she speaks no English, she is obliged to depend totally on her husband. But it becomes apparent that, of the two, she is the real survivor: more able to deal with the ways of the world, and a better judge of the vagaries of human behaviour. She makes friends with another Asian girl, Razia, who is the conduit to her understanding of the unsettling ways of her new homeland.'

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2003.

Happy Reading!

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed to MrMustard. Seems appropriate that it should be going to the East End. I hope you like it!

A very big 'THANK YOU' to jazz-ee2 who sent me this as a trade for my copy of 'Prozac Nation'. I've been wanting to read this for a while now, so I'm hoping it lives up to the hype.

Very enjoyable, well written, story based in the Bangladeshi community of London's East End. Manages to convey the immigrant experience very well without being overly sentimental. As ever though, the real power behind the book is its story. The life of Nazneen, the novel's heroine, is changed forever when she is married off to an older man who has already made the move to London. As life continues to thwart her husband's attempts to improve himself, Nazneen has to contend with an entirely new life as a wife and, later, mother, in an alien country.

Finally, after a lengthy delay caused by work getting in the way of real life, this has been despatched to mikime as a RABCK. Sorry for the hold up, but I hope the book proves worth the wait.

It arrived yesterday...THANKS a lot MrMustard!!! I believe I'm going to enjoy this very much! It was even on the reading list for a quite interesting seminar I could not attend (unfortunately)! So, I'm looking forward to reading it (after a few bookrings are dealt with....)!

Miki

This was a great novel. It reminded me of Rushdie's wonderful prose, in some ways, but this is absolutely special in its own ways. The author did a great job at letting us into the life of the protagonist, and of her sister, of whom we hear through incredibly entertaining letters, definitely funny in their naivete or touching in their dramatic moments. Nazneen herself is a brilliant character whose cleverness and willpower can hardly be kept in by husband or gossiping neighbours or cultural and religious vetoes. The heart she puts in everything she does, her humble, sweet and yet untamed spirit take the readers through the years ('80s, '90s, beginning of 2000s) and the places she belongs to, or learns to belong to (her hometown and now London), and stays with them afterwards. The theme of cultural integration of immigrants meets that of Bengali women's condition as well as more general ones about religious differences and family life and generation gap, to show the richness and depth of scope of this novel. I am now curious about the film they produced from it.

"we are all tied to our corners of the room"
"my heart is not to my heart's liking. I wish I knew how to unite the two"

This is going to kobie03, the winner of my RABCK for my 2nd BC anniversary. Enjoy the book! :)

Book arrived today. Thanks so much.I'll read it soon and get it moving again.

Wow, another great novel I'd have missed if not for Bookcrossing. I love how these books expose me to lives I've hardly ever thought about and because of reading these stories I'm filled with admiration for the life experiences of those characters.
Nazeen, forced as a teenager into an arranged marriage with an older man moves far from home to a town where she cannot even speak the language, English. As her husband tries to better his position in the world we see Nazeen mature, grow and master her life in this foriegn country. The letters from her sister,becoming a parent, her friendship with Razia, her cleverness and strong spirit conveys the immigrant experience vividly.
Thanks for a great read.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed to prachitulshan for Holiday wishlist.

I'm journalling this book very late.. was lying right at the back of my bookshelf! I received this from kobie03 for the HGG last year...this wasn't part of my wishlist, but thanks for sending me something! The bookplate inside is very nice! :)

Set free on a very fun release-walk with bookcrosser violoncellix from Netherlands, who happened to be in town for a short visit!

Released amongst the shady branches of a tree a little away from the main gate and buzzing activity on campus. The tree overlooks a nice sitting area, perfect for relaxing, and indeed we found a pair deeply engrossed in playing cards when we returned to the spot a little later to check if the book had been picked up!
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Haven't completed it as yet. Just got curious about it's origin and visited your web site.