Brick Lane

BRICK LANE

by Monica Ali

 

Nominations: Booker Finalist 2003, Dublin Longlist 2005, LA Times Finalist 2003, National Book Critics Circle Finalist 2003, NY Times Finalist 2003, Women's Prize Longlist 2004

 

Date Read: November 12, 2021

 

Brick Lane tells the story of two sisters from Bangladesh who travel down very different paths in life. Nazneen follows through on her arranged marriage to Chanu and is swept away to England, while Hasina eloped with the man she loves, eschewing any arrangement her parents would make. Both of these choices are a crap-shoot in my opinion. You have no idea how either will turn out.

 

Nazneen, over time, is able to regard her husband with compassion, although I don’t think she ever truly falls in love with him. He is opinionated, self-centered, trapped in his own head and has grandiose ideas that never pan out. I wondered throughout if he was also a hoarder with his affinity for bringing home discarded furniture or if, as a poor Bangladeshi, he couldn’t resist something left on the street that was so valuable. Either way, descriptions of their cluttered apartment left me claustrophobic.

 

During their son’s illness and subsequent death, Nazneen learns a lot about her husband. She learns he is a fantastic cook, possibly more skilled than she is. She also learns that he has a loving and pure heart. This realization is further burnished when Nazneen becomes ill with “nervous exhaustion,” or rather, guilt that can’t be reconciled. Chanu waits on her hand-and-foot, feeding her and attempting to shield her from any stress.

 

Back in Bangladesh, Hasina has been abandoned by her husband and immediately “adopted” by Mr. Chowdhury, a snake in the grass who is waiting for his moment to strike. Mr. Chowdhury arranges for Hasina’s apartment and factory job, both of which she ultimately loses for walking home with another snake in the grass. When Mr. Chowdhury finds out about this male friend, he calls her a whore and rapes her. 

 

Meanwhile, Nazneen is still attempting to carve out a life in London, where her foreignness is often held against her and she struggles to find a place for herself in that unfamiliar world. They end up having two daughters, Shahana and Bibi, more English than Bangladeshi, which drives a wedge between them and Chanu. Chanu does everything in his power to educate them about their home country and why Bangladesh is worthy of their knowledge and respect, but as with all kids, they are immersed in the drama of growing up and fitting in.

 

Chanu’s treatment of his daughters is reprehensible, constantly threatening to beat them, if not actually beating them. The words he uses against them made my stomach turn. Eventually Nazneen puts her foot down and demands that they get along. As quiet and timid as she is, her insistence is so remarkable that Chanu and their daughters obey.

 

After Nazneen is “gifted” with a sewing machine and has plenty of time to practice, she is able to contribute to the family’s coffers by sewing piece-work for clothing manufacturers. This work brings Karim into her life, who eventually becomes her lover. Nazneen discovers passion and heat and wades through guilt so deep that she has a complete breakdown over it. Yet, this is the first she has ever known of being wanted for herself and not her toil. Karim is young and attractive and through this experience she may have been able to see some of what drove her sister to elope.

 

After horrible experiences with men and barely able to feed herself, Hasina moves in with a family as a maid and caregiver to their two children. Through this experience, she is able to see a glimpse of the life Nazneen is living. Both sisters’ experiences provides new-found empathy for what the other is enduring. But their disparate personalities continue to take them down paths that are further and further apart.

 

Chanu returns to Bangladesh without his wife and children. And Hasina runs off with the cook from her maid job. While both of these turn of events had me going “meh,” the future potential for Nazneen and her daughter’s lives is now infinite. They can become just about anything they desire.

 

It’s difficult to believe this is Ali’s first novel. The characters are well-developed, with a clear point of view and the plot is well thought out. Really outstanding work and another vital voice in the immigrant experience genre.