Brick Lane

by Monica Ali | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0552771155 Global Overview for this book
Registered by flajol of Carterton, Wairarapa New Zealand on 5/7/2004
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5 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by flajol from Carterton, Wairarapa New Zealand on Friday, May 7, 2004
An enjoyable read. It explores the immigrant experiences of a young girl from Bangladesh who enters into an arranged marriage with a Bangladeshi man living in London.

Some of the characters are obvious stereotypes, but they are nonetheless charming and easily visualised. Ali is good at capturing the details of day-to-day life, and manages to maintain a level of humour in a relatively bleak story.

Released on Wednesday, June 30, 2004 at Fellow BookCrosser in Postal Release (England), England United Kingdom.

Off to Bookfrogster...

Journal Entry 3 by bookfrogster from Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, July 2, 2004
Hurray, at last I have a copy of Brick Lane. Can't wait to get reading this. Thanks flajol.

Journal Entry 4 by bookfrogster from Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Tuesday, July 13, 2004
I really enjoyed this book. The letters from Nazneen's sister were just heartbreaking. As it was a great story, the political comment worked well and didn't feel forced in. Can't wait to see what she writes next.

Journal Entry 5 by bookfrogster at Forrest Road Post Office in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Saturday, July 24, 2004
Released on Saturday, July 24, 2004 at Forrest Road Post Office in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom.

On its way to tangledthreads as an emergency book parcel! Happy reading.

Journal Entry 6 by tangledthreads from Derby, Derbyshire United Kingdom on Monday, July 26, 2004
Thanks bookfrogster - you've saved my bacon! Will read and journal by a week on Thursday at the latest (as that's when the reading group is that I need to have read it for!)...

Journal Entry 7 by tangledthreads from Derby, Derbyshire United Kingdom on Friday, August 6, 2004
"You can spread your soul over a paddy field, you can whisper to a mango tree, you can feel the earth beneath your toes and know that this is the place, the place where it begins and ends. But what can you tell to a pile of bricks? The bricks will not be moved."

I did enjoy reading this book but as it progressed - really, from when Karim entered the story - it began to have too much of a political edge for me. Because of their multicultural backgrounds, the setting of the novels, and the young age at which their first novels achieved such acclaim, 'Brick Lane' has frequently been compared with 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith. This was in my mind when I read it, and I think I was a little bit disappointed that the wry humour shown in many of Nazneen's observations did not turn out to bring the same lightness of touch and feeling of joie de vivre as Smith's humour did in 'White Teeth'.

My favourite parts of the book were the flashbacks to Nazneen's family background in India, and her sister Hasina's letters. I seemed to be alone in my reading group in appreciating the character and tone of Hasina's letters, so I was glad to see bookfrogster also appreciated them, on reading the previous journal entries!

So this wasn't my favourite book in the world, but it was well-written and easy to read, and I'm glad I read it. Will probably release at Derby Meetup next week...

Journal Entry 8 by tangledthreads from Derby, Derbyshire United Kingdom on Saturday, August 7, 2004
On way to mhchipmunk by surface mail, in trade...

Journal Entry 9 by BC2009061601 on Friday, September 24, 2004
Got home from a long business trip to find this sitting in the pile of mail. Can't wait to read it. Thanks tangledthreads!

Journal Entry 10 by BC2009061601 on Sunday, February 27, 2005
For some reason, I had a really hard time getting through this book. It took me almost 2 months to finish it. The problem is I can't pinpoint the reason. I enjoyed it but I think the part where I got stuck was when Karim entered the story and the political edge it started to take. As I got closer to the end and the focus shifted back more to Nazneen and Chanu, I really got going again and was sorry when it ended. I also found Hasina's letters to be particularly moving.

Ali's writing was lovely though. I really felt like I was there and the visuals she depicted made everything very alive to me. I felt like I was caught up in a swirl of colour. And the food she described had me drooling through the whole book.

An enjoyable book - thanks for passing it on tangledthreads

RELEASE NOTES:

sending of to gumshoe007 in Ottawa. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 12 by gumshoe007 on Monday, March 14, 2005
Received this in the mail today. Thanks mhchipmunk! It'll be going on the TBR pile for myself and my roomate to each read at some point.

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