Brick Lane
Monica Ali's debut novel, Brick Lane, was published in 2003 and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. It was adapted as a 2007 film of the same name. Carrying into her adult years a sense of fatalism instilled during her hardscrabble birth, Nazneen finds herself married off to a man twice her age and moved to London, where she begins to wonder if she has a say in her own destiny.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Brick Lane
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Sent at eighteen from a Bangladeshi village to marry a much older man in a Tower Hamlets council estate, Nazneen raises two daughters and slowly, through letters from her sister and a younger neighbor, finds her own life.
Brick Lane was written by Monica Ali and published in 2003. It was Ali's debut novel and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The novel follows a Bangladeshi woman in an arranged marriage who emigrates to East London.
Yes. A 2007 film adaptation directed by Sarah Gavron and starring Tannishtha Chatterjee was released. The production drew protests from some Bangladeshi residents of Brick Lane who objected to the portrayal of their community.
Brick Lane is 423 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Brick Lane takes most readers 6 to 9 hours to finish.
Brick Lane is a standalone novel by an unknown author, not part of a series.
Brick Lane is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.