Brick Lane aims to do more
than just give a story about a central character; we learn not only of
Nazneen’s life as a young Bangladeshi woman new to Britain who does not even
speak English, in an arranged marriage to a man much older than herself.  We also learn about immigrant culture,
gender relations, Muslim identity, and life as a Muslim in post-9/11 Britain.  Nazneen’s husband Chanu has a degree from
his home country, but he has found that it does him no good in his new chosen
country, so he is studying for a degree in social sciences from the Open
University.  Chanu is a pompous and sad
character, lacking insight into the world around him and all too ready to lie
to himself and his family as a way of keeping his fragile self-respect.  He holds education in high esteem, and takes
courses that show him the world from a leftist perspective, but all his
book-learning fails to help him either in is professional or personal
life.  It is tempting to analyze Brick
Lane using the categories of the social sciences, such as immigrant
culture, gender relations, and Muslim identity.  However, that would probably be a mistake, since the most
important feature of the book is the story of Nazneen. 

I listened to the abridged
audiobook, which lasts 12 hours, without realizing at the time that it was
abridged.  But with hindsight, I suspect
that the abridgement significantly impaired the novel. For books that chronicle
whole life changes, the growth of a family and the lives of siblings and
friends, it helps to have plenty of detail. 
It is like using fabric with a high thread count; greater density of
thread improves the quality.  Even
though there are no obvious gaps in the abridged version, it leaves one with a
sense of a patchy narrative.  Brick
Lane spans decades as it is, and so to edit it down leaves the feeling that
there are large gaps in the story. 

It is hardly fair to judge a novel
from an abridged version, but it is easy to see why this book has won such high
praise from critics.  Britain is now a
far more multicultural society than it was fifty years ago, and this is partly
due to post-war immigration from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.  The newer parts of society have profoundly
influenced British popular culture, including TV, film, pop music, and most
profoundly, food.   Even in the 1970s,
going to an Indian restaurant was an adventure for whites, providing a taste of
foreign and exotic food.  These days, it
is easier to get a curry in the UK than it is to get fish and chips, whether
you are in London or Glasgow.   White
people, especially liberal book readers, are now inquisitive about the
immigrant experience, and a novel is a far easier way to learn about it than
taking a university course.  Brick
Lane provides a way for people to get a sense of the foreign culture that
is now squarely part of British life. 
What’s more, it does this with a strong storyline, plenty of details of
immigrant life, including cooking, and a great deal of compassion for its
characters.

Since author Monica Ali herself was
born in Bangladesh and grew up in England, it seems likely that her picture of
immigrant life is quite accurate.  While
I was not convinced by all her characters and was left unsure whether she had
successfully carried off her broad survey of Nazneen’s life, I did enjoy Brick
Lane a great deal, and it left me with an appetite for more books about
multicultural Britain.

© 2005 Christian
Perring. All rights reserved. 

Link: Highbridge Audio