Brick Lane

By: Monica Ali

Narrated by: Elizabeth Sastre

Nanzeen's inauspicious birth in a Bangladeshi village imbues in her a sense of fatalism that she carries across continents. Married off to a man old enough to be her father, Nanzeen moves to London and cares for her family. But gradually she begins to question whether fate controls her or whether she has a hand in her own destiny. She discovers both the complexity that comes with free choice and the depth of her attachment to her husband, her daughters and her new world.

While Nanzeen journeys along her path of self-realization, her sister, Hasina, rushes headlong at her life. Woven through the novel, Hasina's letters from Dhaka recount a world of overwhelming adversity. Shaped, yet not bound, by their landscapes and memories, both sisters struggle to dream, and live, beyond the rules prescribed for them.

©2003 Monica Ali (P)2003 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Fiction (Abridged), 2004

"A humanely forgiving story about love...Brick Lane may be Ali's first novel, but it is written with a wisdom and skill that few other authors attain in a lifetime." (Sunday Times [London])
"Carefully observed and assured...its power residing in Ali's unsparing scrutiny of its hapless, hopeful protagonists." (Publishers Weekly)
"A splendid novel." (Atlantic Monthly)
"A sharp-witted tale...In Ali's subtle narration, Nazneen's mixture of traditionalism and adaptability, of acceptance and restlessness, emerges as a quiet strength." (The New Yorker)

Wow this was good!

This book was fantastic. I am so sad it is over. The writer captures so well the intimacies of family immigrant life and relationships, and the coming into being of a woman's mature self. Gorgeous writing infused with astute descriptions of inner and outer worlds. I would read anything by this author, and the narrator's style made the characters come alive and become dear to the listener, each in his or her own way. A beautiful rendering of humanness that is both true to life's lowness and draws near to an almost holy quality in the small moments and details. Great book - I highly recommend it!

Control and Lack of Control

Frustration, tradition, and loneliness dictate the main character's life. She's miserable until she finds a way to her own personal freedom. There are moments that are hard to read and other moments where you can't stop reading.

Excellent Read!

I really enjoyed this story and the journey via the lives of the two sisters by way of their letters to each other. The author is a excellent story teller and the lady who narrated it is the best I have listened to to date! The narrator is very versatile and extremely talented. She moves between characters flawlessly and I was enchanted with her verse.

I had an opportunity to see the movie "Brick Lane" and most naturally it did not compare to the book. I can't wait to read the next one by Monica Ali. Good Job.

A truly wonderful book!

This book follows the life of a young woman who leaves a Bangladesh village for a marraige in London. The drawing of her character is stunning. We are let into the tiny reflections of her days, the grace with which she tries to embrace what fate has given her, and an underlying questioning of whether those who struggle against their fate, or those who accept it are happier in the end. The story is thoughtful, sensitive, provocative, and endlessly insightful. There's no great action taking place most of the time, but instead we enter her inner world, perceptions of the new culture around her, her wonder at and care for her first child, the settling into life of the family, and the tensions that come in and out of their On top of it, the voice of the reader of the audio book is endearing, excellently depicting the tone of the character discussed, and nice to listen to.

A great one to hear on tape

I thought the reader was fantastic. She used a variety of authentic accents to make the book come alive in a way that I think might be missed just reading it. The story itself was intruiging and provided great insights into the life of immigrants and struggles with current events. I wasn't absolutely blown away by the story, but I'm very glad I listened to it.