Brick Lane by Monica Ali is a historical fiction story about the transition from native life to immigrant life for a Bangladeshi family as told through the main character. The opening scene of the novel is set in Pakistan during the late 1960’s when Chanu and Nazneen first move from Bangladesh. It seems that life is okay for the couple, but they decide to move to London where Nazneen starts a small business. While in London, the family experiences several positive and negative aspects of being an immigrant family. For instance, a negative aspect can be noted when Chanu and Nazneen first arrive in London and are confronted with the issue of alienation. Their native Bangladeshi and Muslim values are being challenged by the society of Western Civilization and their constant struggle to retain native values while shying away from western influence often separate them from the rest of London. Some other characters in the novel that support Chanu and Nazneen during these times are Dr. Azad, the village’s local physician, and his wife. Positively speaking, the family is middle class only because Chanu and Nazneen both work decent paying jobs, so for an immigrant family in London during the 70’s it appears they are doing well. As time progresses, Nazneen grows more accustomed to western life although she retains her native values, and a new conflict arises: to leave her old life behind her and continue her business in London or move back to Bangladesh with Chanu.
After reading this novel, I have discovered three things that make this novel worth reading: the historical context on which the novel was written, the author’s writing style and the different themes that present themselves through the different characters of the story.
I believe Monica Ali presents a clear picture of what immigrant life is like for anyone during the 1970’s. Traditional values and customs come into opposition with outside influences and the struggle to maintain oneself in a new country becomes the most difficult task any immigrant can face. Throughout the story, Chanu and Nazneen are pressured by western culture and all the things that their native Bangladeshi values are against such as the plastering of nude pictures of women on the tavern windows and playing “chance” games. As the story progresses, the couple begins to include Christianity and Judaism along with a few other religions in their home life and lifestyle altogether. This shows that although the couple remains loyal to their native religion, they are allowing other religions to help influence their overall character. In addition to the struggle of trying to prevent oneself from being taken over by a new society, immigrants also face the challenge of making enough money to support their family in a new country. When Chanu and Nazneen first arrive in London, they appear to have sufficient wealth to take care of their children. However, economic times become more difficult than the couple expected and as a result Chanu takes a second job as a cab driver and Nazneen works even harder in her business to make more money so that their children would live sufficiently. All in all, I believe that anyone who is genuinely interested in learning about a novel’s historical background should really consider reading this particular work because I think Ali presents the novel’s historical backdrop in an intriguing and fascinating way.
Another thing that I discovered about this novel that I believe makes it a worthwhile read is the language and writing techniques employed by the author. First, I must admit that one particular aspect of Ali’s writing that I do not enjoy is the fact that she uses long pages to get her ideas across to the readers. Apart from that, I think Ali uses very dynamic sentence structure and includes a fair mix of character dialogue and narration so that the story does not become dry and readers will not be bored. Another aspect of Ali’s writing that I am fond of is her ability to convey her personal testimony of growing up as a Bangladeshi immigrant in a thought provoking and clever manner through the numerous characters in the story. I believe that this novel contains writing techniques that appeal to everyone and as one reads and comprehends the story, a very descriptive picture of Ali’s personal experiences as an immigrant is painted in the reader’s mind.
Finally, the part I most enjoyed about Ali’s novel is the way she was able to present different historical themes and keep the reader fascinated. Some of the themes that are presented in the novel include: wealth and poverty, alienation, and clashes between religions in a new society. Overall, this novel would be excellent for any reader that wishes to be intellectually stimulated, entertained by unique writing skills, and experience what a first-hand account of life in a new country would be like.
No comments:
Post a Comment