The New York Times Book Review Splendid. has an inborn generosity that cannot be learned. a popular success fueled by a critical one.One feels the enabling weight of the 19th century, of a history of novels about people cut off from their origins, adrift in Europes great cities. Review Quotes Praise for Brick Lane Brick Lane is deeply rewarding. Monica Alis splendid novel is about journeys both external and internal, where the marvelous and the terrifying spiral together. Yet to her amazement, she begins an affair with a handsome young radical, and her erotic awakening throws her old certainties into chaos. She submits, as she must, to Fate and devotes herself to her husband and daughters. Islam? What is a Hells Angel? And how must she comfort the nave and disillusioned Chanu? As a good Muslim girl, Nazneen struggles to not question why things happen. How can she cross the road without being hit by a car (an operation akin to dodging raindrops in the monsoon)? What is the secret of her bullying neighbor Mrs. Curtis Sittenfeld, author of SisterlandAfter an arranged marriage to Chanu, a man twenty years older, Nazneen is taken to London, leaving her home and heart in the Bangladeshi village where she was born. A novel thats multi-continental, richly detailed and elegantly crafted. A Bangladeshi immigrant in London is torn between the kind, tedious older husband with whom she has an arranged marriage (and children) and the fiery political activist she lusts after. Book Synopsis A book you wont be able to put down. About the Book Now in paperback, Alis gorgeous first novel is the deeply moving story of one woman, Nazneen, born in a Bangladeshi village and transported to London at age 18 to enter into an arranged marriage.

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